1999 and after in mainland China Main article: Persecution of Falun Gong In April 1999, physicist He Zuoxiu published an article in the Tianjin College of Education's Youth Reader magazine, entitled “I Do Not Agree with Youth Practicing qigong ,” and criticised Falun Gong [47]. Practitioners found his treatment of Falun Gong unfair and gathered to protest the article. Police were allegedly called, and then beat and arrested a number of them. On April 25, Falun Gong practitioners lined the streets near Zhongnanhai in silence, seeking legal recognition and protection of the practice in light of the alleged beatings and arrests in Tianjin.
[edit] The 'ban' On 20 July 1999, following seven years of rapid growth of the practice within mainland China;[41], the government of the People's Republic of China issued a statement "banning" Falun Gong: “ China today banned the Research Society of Falun Dafa and the Falun Gong organization under its control after deeming them to be illegal. In its decision on this matter issued today, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said that according to investigations, the Research Society of Falun Dafa had not been registered according to law and had been engaged in illegal activities, advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social stability.
The decision said that therefore, in accordance with the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Mass Organizations, the Research Society of Falun Dafa and the Falun Gong organization under its control are held to be illegal and are therefore banned. [48] ” Xinhua further declared that Falun Gong was a highly organised political group "opposed to the Communist Party of China and the central government, [that] preaches idealism, theism and feudal superstition". It sought to make a distinction between "ordinary core members" and the leaders, which it referred to as "a small number of behind-the-scenes plotters and organizers who harbor political intentions". It struck a warning-bell against some important Party and government officials who were practitioners. [49] Xinhua also affirmed that "the so-called 'truth, kindness and forbearance' principle preached by Li has nothing in common with the socialist ethical and cultural progress we are striving to achieve. "[50] Li Hongzhi responded with a "Brief Statement of Mine" on July 22: “ Falun Gong is simply a popular qigong activity. It does not have any particular organization, let alone any political objectives. We have never been involved in any anti-government activities. I am a cultivator myself, and I have never been destined to be involved in political power. I am just teaching people how to practice cultivation. If one wants to practice qigong well, he/she must be a person of high moral standards... We are not against the government now, nor will we be in the future. Other people may treat us badly, but we do not treat others badly, nor do we treat people as enemies.
We are calling for all governments, international organizations, and people of goodwill worldwide to extend their support and assistance to us in order to resolve the present crisis that is taking place in China. [51] ” According to Scott Lowe, Falun Gong practitioners' explanation of the persecution is because the Chinese Communist Party wants "total control of society and is threatened by any group that is capable of independent action." Respondents thought that the Party was especially threatened by the moral example set by Falun Gong practitioners, "since party members look like grubby careerists in comparison." Practitioners also suspected that the authorities were afraid of the respect practitioners accorded to Master Li. Overall, "Falun Gong [was] simply too big... and the government cannot understand how that many people can join in common cause and not be a threat to the state. "[40] [edit] The persecution See also: Reports of organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners in China and Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident A nationwide crackdown ensued with the exception of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. In October 1999, four months after the ban, legislation was created to outlaw "heterodox religions" and applied to Falun Gong retroactively. [15] The Chinese authorities branded Falun Gong, along with some other practices, movements or organizations, as 邪教 or "xiejiao",[52] which was translated into English with the somewhat inaccurate term "cult" or "evil cult". [52][53] Reenacting torture during a demonstration in Berlin According to some reports, every aspect of society was mobilized against Falun Gong, including the media apparatus, police force, army, education system, families, and workplaces. [13] An extra-constitutional body, the "6-10 Office" was created to "oversee the terror campaign,"[54] which was allegedly driven by large-scale propaganda through television, newspapers, radio and internet. [15] Families and workplaces were urged to cooperate with the government's position on Falun Gong, while practitioners themselves were subject to various severe coercive measures to have them recant. [55] Amnesty International declares the persecution to be politically motivated and a restriction of fundamental freedoms.
Protests in Beijing were frequent for the first few years following the 1999 edict, though they have largely been silenced since. [56] Practitioners' presence in mainland China has become more low-profile, as they opt for alternative methods of informing about the public persecution, such as through overnight letterbox drops of CD-ROMs. They have occasionally hacked into state television channels to broadcast their material, with harsh repercussions. Practitioners are also globally active in appealing to governments, media and the people of their respective countries about the situation in China.
There are particular concerns over reports of torture,[57][58] illegal imprisonment including forced labour, and psychiatric abuses. [14] Falun Gong related cases comprise 66% of all reported torture cases in China,[17] and at least half of the labour camp population. [18] Since 2006, Falun Gong has alleged systematic organ harvesting from living practitioners, and an investigation led by two Canadians , parliamentarian David Kilgour and David Matas, has lent support to the claims. [19] Kilgour, former Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific, commented "It is simply inescapable that this is going on", and Matas claimed that their evidence "has not been refuted". [59][60] Kilgour and Matas's conclusions are corroborated by two other independent investigations, by Dr. Kirk Allison, associate director of the program in human rights and medicine at the University of Minnesota,[61][62] and European Parliament Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott,[63] however the United States Congressional Research Service regarded them as inconsistent with the findings of other investigations, relying largely on logical inferences. [64] The Christian Science Monitor states that the report's evidence, although circumstantial, is persuasive, and criticises China for a lack of openness in investigating the claims. [65] The U.S. House of Representatives accused China of unlawful harassment of United States citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong, and passed a resolution unanimously calling on the Chinese government to "cease its persecution and harassment of Falun Gong practitioners in the United States." Practitioners also draw attention to their plight by demonstrating the meditation exercises, distributing flyers, displaying banners, initiating lawsuits, demonstrating outside Chinese consulates around the world, and organising other public events such as lavish travelling Chinese New Year shows[66].
On July 30, 2008, the Chinese Communist Party foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that during the Beijing Olympic Games Falun Gong websites will be blocked, censoring journalists' access to the internet. [67] [edit] Suspected reasons A World Journal article suggested that certain high-level Party officials had wanted to crack down on the practice for several years, but lacked sufficient pretext until this time. [46] Jiang Zemin is often considered to have been largely personally responsible for the final decision, both by Falun Gong and academics. Cited possible motives include personal jealousy of Li Hongzhi,[68] anger, ideological struggle,[69] the nature of Communist Party rule and a perceived challenge to it. [70] [edit] Outside mainland China Main article: Falun Gong outside mainland China Since the 1999 government clamp-down on Falun Gong, activities abroad directing attention to the Human Rights situation in China have increased dramatically. Falun Gong's lobbying has particularly raised its profile in the United States. [71] Falun Dafa practitioners and human rights activists in cities around the world have organised protest events to draw attention to the plight of practitioners in China.
The situation of Falun Gong and its practitioners has been regarded by some Western governments as a major international human rights issue. The PRC government is accused by Falun Gong and many human rights groups of violating the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), also ratified by the People's Republic of China. In July 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives accused China of unlawful harassment of United States citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong, and passed a resolution, unanimously by 420:0, calling on China to "cease its persecution and harassment of Falun Gong practitioners in the United States". [16] [edit] Academic attention Main article: Academic views on Falun Gong Falun Gong has been represented in different ways by researchers, media, and in other public fora. While the late psychologist Margaret Singer derided it as a "cult," [71] Edelman and Richardson say this has no "empirical verification or general acceptance in the scientific community," and is merely a label that has been conveniently used to persecute the practice. [72] Quebec Superior court Justice Rousseau declared Falun Gong "controversial" in a 2005 decision. Livia Kohn, Professor of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University and a scholar in Daoism, has praised it as having "a high success rate in creating friendlier people, more harmonious social environments, and greater health and vitality. "[73] Some scholars such as Benjamin Penny of the Australian National University have given detailed treatments of Chinese Buddhist publications and what they have written on Falun Gong, while others such as Susan Palmer, David Ownby and PhD student Noah Porter, have made ethnographic studies of Falun Gong as it is currently transmitted and practiced in the United States. James Tong has written about the development of the campaign to persecute the practice in Mainland China, also analysing the use of the Communist states' media apparatus in its portrayal of Falun Gong as a well-financed organisation. Scholarly research on Falun Gong and its place in contemporary society has been approached from different angles. David Ownby, for example, has analysed Falun Gong from a historical Chinese perspective as well as commented on his personal experience of meeting modern Falun Gong practitioners. Ownby has also speculated on Falun Gong as a cultural renewal of ancient Chinese cultivation forms starting in the Ming dynasty. Stephen Chan has written about Falun Gong's relationship to Buddhism and other qigong, as well as commenting on deeper reasons behind the persecution in Mainland China. Barend ter Haar argues that Falun Gong and the persecution cannot be understood outside the context of recent Chinese history. [74] [edit]
