Under China's crackdown, the sect is undergoing a dark evolution. The group's charismatic leader, Li Hongzhi, has vanished, apparently unseen since last July.
Followers talk of a preparedness to face martyrdom.
For China's leaders the movement has become an increasingly unpredictable challenge. Falun Gong, which was founded by Li in 1992, has been an urgent worry for the Chinese authorities since some 10,000 devotees massed outside the Communist Party leadership's offices in Beijing a year ago. The protest prompted the party to declare Falun Gong a cult, ban it, and launch the widest clampdown in China since the Tiananmen Square uprising was crushed in 1989. Li's own disappearance is a key element in the movement's evolution. The one hint of his whereabouts is an undated photograph posted on Falun Gong's many Internet sites since January.