This board is a multi-post board exploring the Falun Gong movement

The Chinese cultivation practice known as Falun Gong has flourished in popularity and infamy since its introduction in May of 1992. Also know as Falun Dafa, this form of qigong cultivation currently claims between seventy to one hundred million followers. Emphasizing the cultivation of the mind and body as well as advocating a strict code of morality, Falun Gong has spread out of its birth land of China into sixty countries worldwide (Falun Dafa Information Center, 2006). Although the dissemination of Falun Dafa is undoubtedly related to public acceptance, it is also the consequence of rigid persecution against the practitioners within mainland China.

Since the rise of the Communist government in 1949, religion has been officially discouraged in China. The P.R.C. permits five religions to be practiced by its citizens: Buddhism, Daoism , Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam. All religious institutions require registration and approval by the government. Any individual officially practicing one of these religions is excluded from obtaining any occupation within the government (Kindopp 259-261, 2002 and Wong and Liu 10-12, 1999). Although religion is tolerated by the P.R.C., the government encourages strict devotion to the Communist Party.

Balanced between the spirituality of religion and the materialism of the secular government is qigong. Qigong refers to a set of physical exercises involving a formula of slow, fluid movements. These exercises are considered to promote physical, mental, and emotional well being. Qigong is said to improve overall health by opening a series of energy channels within the body in order to assist the flow of qi or vital energy. The proper circulation of qi permits clear thinking, balanced emotions, and general physical fitness. It is believed that the dedicated practicing of qigong can slow the effects of aging or stop it completely (Schechter 2001, 45). Qigong is popular among the retired and elderly population of China, as the exercises are not physically strenuous.
Falun Gong or Falun Dafa is a cultivation practice introduced to the Chinese public in 1992. This cultivation practice is devoted to the development of the mind and body, emphasizing the physical exercise of qigong and an integrated set of spiritual beliefs and moral codes. Although Falun Gong and Falun Dafa often are used interchangeable, practitioners distinguish between the two names. Practitioners translated falun as �law wheel�, referring to the combination of the taiji (yin-yang) and srivatsa, which serves as the main symbol of the movement (Li 2001, 184).

The word, gong, represents the concept of the high energy matter one accumulates by performing qigong exercises, therefore Falun Gong refers to the actual exercises performed by practitioners or the physical group of Falun Gong practitioners (Li 2001, 7). The translation for dafa is �great law or great way,� and Falun Dafa denotes the actual philosophy of the movement (Li 2001, 2). In this thesis, Falun Gong will be used to signify the physical exercises and the assembly of practitioners, while Falun Dafa implies only the philosophy or belief system.

At its most basic, Falun Dafa appears to combine concepts from Buddhism, Daoism, traditional Chinese folk belief, and modern science into a cohesive explanation of the nature of the universe and how one should conduct one�s self within it. Associated with this philosophy is the notion that certain qigong exercises bring the practitioner closer to the essence of the universe in both body and mind. The founder and leader of the Falun Gong, Li Hongzhi, argues that Falun Dafa is not a religion, but �an intricate and extraordinary science of all theories in the world� (Li 2001, i). This complex system of cultivation has attracted numerous supporters from all over the world.

Since its debut, the cultivation practice has collected millions of followers despite attempts by the Chinese government to outlaw the movement and arrest the Falun Gong�s leader, Li Hongzhi. The exact reasons for the government�s intolerance for the Falun Gong and the Falun Gong�s persistence in practicing their beliefs at threat of torture and death are unknown. The Chinese government declares that the Falun Gong is an evil cult that disrupts the Chinese public. The Chinese government has successfully limited the study of Falun Gong in China by disallowing any person who has published information on the Falun Gong from entering the country. Therefore, academic studies of the Falun Gong can only include practitioners outside of China and must rely on journalists or Chinese escapees for any information from inside China. This material, though not entirely representative of the Falun Gong population, is the best that can be examined until government discrimination against the Falun Gong ends. Because of the aggressive anti-Falun Gong actions taken by China, authors writing about the Falun Gong direct their research towards a political perspective. As of yet, there is no published books critically analyzing the philosophy of the Falun Gong or how it pertains to their persecution by the Chinese government.

Originally, Falun Dafa was introduced as a new form of qigong exercise. It was promoted at numerous health demonstrations within China and steadily accumulated followers. Most early Falun Gong practitioners were between forty to fifty years of age, and many were retired government or military employees. Falun Gong quickly diffused among older people, as practitioners boasted of the amazing revitalizing powers of the exercises (Schechter 2001, 41-42). Li Hongzhi even declared that eighty percent of practitioners were completely free of illness (Li 2001, 331). These health benefits are connected to the adoption of a complex system of morality and spirituality that the PRC found too closely resembling religion to allow.

Although the exact time the Chinese government began to view the Falun Gong as a possible threat is unknown, legislation against the cultivation practice appears as early as 1999. The motivation for anti-Falun Gong laws was the consequence of a ten thousand Falun Gong member demonstration in Tiananmen Square on April 25, 1999. The demonstration was nonviolent, but it occurred only weeks before the anniversary of the brutal quelling of the 1989 Tiananmen incident (Schechter 2001, 27-28). Aside from the demonstration taking place in an area notorious for social unrest, the Falun Gong apparently were able to congregate this many practitioners without the government noticing until the sit-in began. The ability of the Falun Gong to congregate in such a large number without public officials being aware signaled to the Chinese government that the Falun Gong should be considered a threat.

After the April demonstration, the Chinese government immediately engaged in anti-Falun Gong legislation. On July 22, 1999, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs officially outlawed the Falun Gong (Wong and Liu 1999, 7). By the 29th of the same month, the Ministry of Public Security issued an arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi (Wong and Liu 1999, 8). Jiang Zemin even requested Interpol to intervene with the matter by asking them to arrest Li at his current residence in the United States (Schechter 2001, 72). Although China has been able to control the Falun Gong practitioners within their own border, they were unable to stop the spread of the movement into other countries. The vigorous persecution of the Falun Gong within China has become the topic of a substantial amount of attention from the media and social scientists.