WHAT IS FALUN GONG AND WHY IS IT SO OBSESSED WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT?

What is Falun Gong?

According to the literature of the group, Falun Gong or Falun Dafa - Law of the wheel - originated in prehistoric times, but only came to the public in 1992, when Li Hongzhi, a man in his forties referred to As "the master", created a study center in Beijing. Falun Gong includes a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, followers have a religious devotion to Master Li. In China, hundreds of people gather in squares and parks across the country for their practice . The most public manifestation of Falun Gong is the practice of a series of exercises related to the ancient Chinese art of qigong - a kind of breathing meditation. With a special accompaniment of music, Falun Gong performs routines with names such as "Buddha showing the thousand hands",

Initially, the Chinese government promoted Falun Gong because of the enormous health benefits it offered, thus alleviating the costs of China's health care system. However, in the last seven years the number of Falun Gong practitioners has grown by more than two to one (although according to the Chinese government, there are only about Two million members who practice it). It would become the largest organization in China even surpassing the Communist Party itself.

In late 1990, the Communist Party's relationship with the Falun Gong movement became increasingly tense. Reports of discrimination and surveillance by the Public Security Bureau were on the increase, and Falun Gong practitioners systematically sat in demonstrations responding to government-issued newspaper articles whose content was considered unfair. Contradictory investigations by the Ministry of Public Security on the one hand and the State Sports Commission and Qiao Shi (Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) on the other spoke of disagreements among China's elites about how to consider The growing practice of Falun Gong.

In April 1999, a critical article on Falun Gong was published in the Tianjin Normal University Youth magazine. The article was written by physicist He Zuoxiu, relative of Luo Gan - member of the Political Bureau and Tsar of Public Security. The article presents qigong, and Falun Gong in particular, as something superstitious and potentially dangerous. Falun Gong practitioners responded by picketing in the newspaper's offices requesting a modification of the article. That event was the beginning of the so-called Tianjin and Zhongnanhai protests.

Falun Gong practitioners say they are a quiet, law-abiding group who follow a philosophy and exercise regime that lead to spiritual enlightenment and improved health. Chinese authorities see Falun Gong as something much more sinister.

Acting under orders from the government, police began to harass practitioners, which prevented them from practicing together, and threatened to stop them. Meanwhile, some newspapers began to print articles with negative content about this practice.

What Falun Gong practitioners say
Conversion program: Falun Gong supporters say that the Chinese regime pursues both the dissolution of Falun Gong and the "transformation" of its practitioners. In 2000, the Party increased its campaign by sentencing "repeat practitioners" to "re-education with work" in an effort to make them renounce their beliefs and "transform" their thoughts. The charges against them were also applied arbitrarily by the police , while some practitioners had ambiguous charges against them, such as "altering the social order", "endangering national security", or "subverting the socialist system" .

Deaths and torture: Falun Gong supporters accuse the Chinese government of being responsible for torture and death . Since 2000, the UN Special Rapporteur has identified 314 cases of torture in China, representing more than 1,160 persons, by the Government of China. Falun Gong represents 66% of all cases of reported torture. Estimates of the number of Falun Gong practitioners killed during the persecution are very variable. In 2009, the New York Times reported that, according to human rights groups, the repression had claimed "at least 2,000" lives. Amnesty International reported that at least 100 Falun Gong practitioners were believed to have been killed in 2008, either in prison or shortly after their release. Sources of Falun Gong have reported about 3,400 deaths. Journalist Ethan Gutmann of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies estimates an average of 65,000 deaths on the basis of refugee testimony, while investigators David Kilgour and David Matas estimate 41,500 deaths between 2000 and 2005.

Organ harvesting and harvesting: In March 2006, the magazine affiliated with Falun Gong Epoch Times published a series of articles claiming that in China a widespread and systematic practice of organ harvesting is being carried out on Falun Gong practitioners . The website states that practitioners are detained in work camps, hospital basements or prisons and are tested for blood and urine, and their information is stored in computer databases , to see possible compatibility with organ recipients. Within a month, third-party investigators, including representatives of the US State Department, said there was insufficient evidence to support the prosecution.

Former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas were commissioned by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong to investigate such allegations. In July 2006, the "Report on allegations of organ abduction of Falun Gong practitioners in China" was published, which concluded that a large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been victims of systematic organ withdrawal throughout All of China, even though they are still alive. Staff at the US Embassy showed how the alleged location of such an activity used to be a normal hospital. The "Report on allegations of organ abduction of Falun Gong practitioners in China" was published, which concluded that a large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been victims of systematic organ harvesting throughout China, even though Alive. Staff at the US Embassy showed how the alleged location of such an activity used to be a normal hospital. The "Report on allegations of organ abduction of Falun Gong practitioners in China" was published, which concluded that a large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been victims of systematic organ harvesting throughout China, even though Alive. Staff at the US Embassy showed how the alleged location of such an activity used to be a normal hospital.

image: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/
http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2017/5/11/163358.html