Latest news with #AipingWang
RNZ News
07-07-2025
- RNZ News
The Lodge: Tauranga bomb scare linked to South Island cult, RNZ podcast reveals
The Lodge, pictured in 2004. Photo: No credit A member of a wellness cult was responsible for a 2005 bomb threat that led to the evacuation of central Tauranga, RNZ's new investigative podcast The Lodge can reveal. The 13-hour siege, which shut down several city blocks, was carried out by Jakob Slevec, a 57-year-old Slovenian. Slevec had studied at the Phenomena Academy based at Takaro Lodge near Te Anau - a wellness cult run by Chinese guru Aiping Wang, the subject of an RNZ podcast currently being released. The Guru - grandmaster - Aiping Wang. Photo: No credit Today's episode reveals Slevec's links with the lodge. This connection has never been reported until now. According to hotel receptionist Bronwin Pretorius, who sat with Slevec for hours in the conference room of the Devonport Hotel during the incident, the man claimed to be carrying explosives and demanded to speak with Helen Clark. "He had a rucksack and wanted to speak to the Prime Minister. He said he had a bomb with him," Pretorius says in the podcast. The Armed Offenders Squad and bomb squad were deployed, three city blocks were evacuated, and the siege lasted 13 hours before authorities moved in, arresting Slevec without serious injury. News reports at the time said the shutdown of central Tauranga cost businesses $500,000. The episode reveals that Slevec was a student at Wang's Phenomena Academy and had been living at the lodge. He was one of 12 overseas followers facing deportation after New Zealand authorities had closed down Wang's teaching institution. An interview with Aiping Wang in 2004. Photo: No credit A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that "Jacob Slevec, the man with the backpack trying to get an audience with Helen Clark, had been living and studying at the lodge in Te Anau. Over four years he'd renewed his student visa multiple times". Pretorius, who was pregnant at the time though unaware of it, described the experience as "quite surreal" but noted that Slevec "didn't come across as scary" and had "a very calm nature". The following day in court, Slevec was charged with burglary, threatening to kill or cause grievous bodily harm, and was subsequently deported to Slovenia. Media coverage at the time made no mention of his connection to Wang's group. Slevec's bag contained no explosives. His protest appears to have been related to his impending deportation back to Eastern Europe. While Slevec never revealed what he was hoping to achieve or wanting to ask of the Prime Minister, the Bay of Plenty Times in 2005 reported he "believed he had to commit a crime to be deported without having to pay for his airfare home". Pretorius says, "I asked him what he was doing, why he was doing this, and he said that he pretty much, he was wanting to go back home". It was unclear whether by "home" he meant Slovenia or Te Anau. Simona, an ex-follower. Photo: Internet image The podcast reveals that Wang's Phenomena Academy had been set up in 2000 as a government-accredited teaching institute offering a three-year "diploma of life consultancy". Ex-followers say this accreditation enabled Wang to bring foreign followers to New Zealand on student visas. Edi, an ex-follower. Photo: Internet image Following a 2004 20/20 television documentary by this reporter, exposing questionable practices at the lodge, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) withdrew its accreditation. "After the 20/20 doco came out, NZQA removed Aiping's right to teach and deported a dozen followers on student visas. Jacob Slevec, the Tauranga fake bomber, was one of them," I explain in the podcast. Despite the deportations and loss of accreditation, it's believed Wang remained in New Zealand under a golden visa after purchasing the Lodge property for $2.1 million in 1998. Caroline, an ex-follower. Photo: Internet image The Lodge documents Wang's journey from Eastern Europe to New Zealand. Ex-followers say she'd brought them to the southwest of the South Island because this was the best place to survive a world disaster. Suzanne, an ex-follower. Photo: No credit Once they arrived in Aotearoa, Wang's Phenomena Academy promised believers they would learn how to levitate, see the future, and be healed without medicine. Warwick, an ex-follower Photo: VIP believers were charged just under three quarters of a million dollars for life membership and access to the guru. Aiping Wang in Eastern Europe pre-2000. Photo: Internet image The Lodge examines the expansion of a wellness empire across multiple countries, raising questions about the oversight of alternative healing practices and their potential consequences. - Newshub Archives
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
E4 Being There
life and society 21 minutes ago We hear from the guru herself, Aiping Wang in a rare interview recorded for a 20/20 television documentary, The Grandmaster. The guru explains 'Qi', what she calls 'Universe Energy' and how it can bring happiness, wealth and health, including curing serious diseases. She explains her teachings and we find out what happened when she started out as a guru back in Slovenia.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Wellness industry's dark side: Experts warn of dangers in RNZ podcast The Lodge
Photo: Amrita Marks The global wellness industry, valued at approximately $5 trillion, harbours a dangerous underbelly, according to a new RNZ podcast. Unproven therapies and charismatic gurus can lead vulnerable individuals away from life-saving medical treatments, the investigation reveals. " The Lodge ", an eight-part series by journalist Phil Vine, examines the rise of wellness culture through the story of Aiping Wang. Wang, a Chinese-born guru established a following first in Eastern Europe, then in New Zealand's remote Fiordland. She offered her followers the possibility of healing without medicine. Several experts featured in the podcast warn that social media has supercharged problematic wellness claims, creating an environment where influencers can reach millions with unproven health advice. "What's new is the rise of social media and many digital technologies that enable ordinary individuals to build a brand online and to reach a vast global audience," explains Dr Stephanie Baker from City University in London. She's the author of Wellness Culture: How the Wellness Movement Has Been Used to Empower, Profit and Misinform . The podcast explores how wellness movements often exploit legitimate distrust in conventional healthcare systems, what Dr Baker calls the "low trust society." Dr Jon-Patrick Allem, Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences from Rutgers University, New Jersey, notes this dynamic in his research. "The wellness industry is so appealing to people because there's a lot of problems with medicine," Allem explains. "There's a lot of problems with how one interacts with their physician, when they see their physician, what their physician is versed in to communicate." The podcast documents real-world consequences through the stories of Wang's followers who rejected conventional treatment for conditions including: breast cancer, melanoma, and HIV after hoping for cures through "energy healing". Allem highlights a particularly concerning wellness trend: "What I am seeing in the social media space is individuals claiming to have alternative ways to not just prevent a cancer diagnosis, but to cure a cancer diagnosis." Dr Emily Yang from Western Sydney University, who has trained in traditional Chinese medicine, warns against using unproven therapies as substitutes for evidence-based treatments: "For example I would never claim Tai Chi can treat cancer," she says, advocating instead for complementary approaches alongside conventional medicine. The podcast examines the psychological appeal of wellness gurus, with Baker noting that people often turn to such figures during tough times - an aspect she calls "situational vulnerability". "It could be the situation involving the death of a loved one or possibly divorce. A moment when one feels less stable. They're often searching for answers, for meaning." New Zealand cult expert Anke Richter identifies a clear warning sign in wellness practices: exclusivity. When practitioners insist their method is the only acceptable approach and discourage conventional medical treatment, it can have fatal consequences. "There's a quiet death toll," Richter explains. The podcast connects these modern wellness trends to the rise of figures such as Dr Joe Dispenza, who claims to cure cancer through "coherence healing" and has amassed 3.6 million Instagram followers. Allem warns listeners to be sceptical of practitioners who make expansive claims: "The wellness industry, broadly defined, is so appealing to people because there's a lot of problems with medicine. But that doesn't mean that wellness practices should replace proven treatments." Baker offers advice for those concerned about loved ones who may be falling under the influence of questionable wellness practitioners: "Don't cut them off. It's the worst thing you can do. Through maintaining a sense of common ground with these people, rather than just dismissing their belief system, you can help them see contradictions." For consumers navigating the wellness landscape, experts recommend maintaining open communication with conventional healthcare providers and being wary of any practitioner who suggests abandoning proven medical treatments entirely.
