Surveys showed that 100 million Chinese had joined Falun Gong, while only 60 million people claimed membership in the Communist Party. Since being outlawed, the group says tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been forced from their homes, jailed or sent to forced labor camps. The group claims at least 70 of its members have died as the result of torture while in police custody. Practitioners are encouraged to study the need for truth, compassion and forbearance in their lives. Putting those principles to use in everyday life is what makes all the difference, Wu said.
Any spiritual practice is seen as a threat to the party.
But if the plight of Falun Gong members is dire in its home country, yesterday's presentation by Liu and Wu was anything but apocalyptic. Following a verbal presentation, about a dozen members of the society joined Liu and Wu in several of the exercises.