Li Hongzhi - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia I Love to read n write about Interesting People Li Hongzhi Known for Founder of Falun Gong Spouse Li Rui Parents Li Dan, Lu Shuzhen Born 13 May 1951 (age 64) (according to Li Hongzhi) 27 July 1952 or 7 July 1952 (age 63) (according to Chinese government) (1951-05-131952-07-07) Gongzhuling, Jilin, China People also search for Jiang Zemin, Li Meige, Bo Xilai Books China falun gong =, Essentials for Further Advance, Zhuan Falun: (English, Falun Gong, Falun Buddha Fa: Lectures i Teacher li hongzhi falun gong is not a threat to the chinese government Sponsored Links Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; pinyin: Li Hongzhi) is the founder and spiritual leader of Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), a "system of mind-body cultivation" in the qigong tradition.

Li Hongzhi began his public teachings of Falun Gong on 13 May 1992 in Changchun, and subsequently gave lectures and taught Falun Gong exercises across China. In 1995 Li began teaching Falun Gong abroad, and in 1998 he settled as a permanent resident in the United States. Li's Falun Gong movement gained significant popularity in the 1990s, including in government and qigong circles, but was suppressed by the Chinese government in 1999. Conferencia falun dafa espa ol sr li hongzhi Early life There are competing accounts of Li's life that surfaced before and after the suppression of Falun Gong began in July 1999, and there is very little authoritative information on his early life. Accounts between Li’s supporters and detractors diverge significantly, and as a result, can be understood within the context of the political and spiritual purposes for which different narratives were developed. Hagiography An unofficial biography appeared in the first of Li’s major publications, Zhongguo Falun Gong, and was authored by journalist Zhu Huiguang.

A second, official spiritual biography appeared in early editions of Falun Gong’s primary text, Zhuan Falun, and was authored by the Falun Dafa Research Society. These biographies placed emphasis on Li’s spiritual development, with minimal details on Li’s ordinary work or family life. The style and content of these biographies is consistent with the "centuries-old tradition of religious biography in China". As Benjamin Penny writes, "as with its precursors [in Chinese history], this biography seeks to establish a genealogy of the figure whose life is recorded and to buttress the orthodoxy of his doctrine." Both biographies were omitted from later printings of Falun Gong books, as Li explained that he did not want people to focus their attention on his own history or circumstances. These biographies state that Li was born on 13 May 1951, in the town of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province. The first account, by Zhu Huiguang, stated that Li’s family lived amidst poverty, with his mother earning a wage of only 30 yuan. In this edition, Li was described as developing a "spirit of bearing hardships and tolerating hard work" as he helped care for his younger siblings.

The second, official version of his biography emphasized Li’s average social background, stating that he belonged to "ordinary intellectual’s family". Both biographies ascribe to Li innate virtues of compassion and discipline. The official biography focuses mainly on the lineage of Daoist and Buddhist masters who he says provided Li with instruction from an early age. At four, he was trained by Quan Jue, the Tenth Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School. By age eight, he had acquired "the superb great law with supernatural powers", which was supposed to include invisibility, levitation, etc. Master Quan left him at age twelve, to be replaced by Taoist master Baji Zhenren, who provided instruction in martial arts and physical skills. A third Master arrived in 1972 from the Great Way School. Zhendaozi (literally, "True Taoist"), came from the Changbai Mountains near the North Korean border. Unlike Li’s other spiritual tutors, the True Taoist wore ordinary attire, and taught Li the way of inner cultivation through Qigong, stressing xinxing (i.e. "mind or heart nature, moral character").

Li’s training in this period mostly took place under cover of night, possibly due to the political environment of the Cultural Revolution. Sponsored Links Zhu Haiguang’s version of the biography notes that Li consistently refused to partake in the campaigns of the Cultural Revolution, never joining the Red Guards or communist organizations. A fourth Master — a woman from the Buddha School—began instructing Li in 1974. After training with these four Masters, Li's "energy potency had reached a very high level". His personal development plateaued around this time, with the biography stating that Li was able "to see the truth of the universe, many more beautiful things which have existed there for a long time, as well as the origin, development and future of mankind". In 1982, Li moved to the city of Changchun for "civilian employment", the implication being that his previous work was with the military. At some point in the 1980s, Li married and had a daughter. In 1984, Li began synthesizing the teachings he received into what would become Falun Dafa.

The practice would not be exactly the same as what had been transmitted to him, as those systems were not suitable to be "popularised on a large scale". Li began observing the teaching methods of other qigong masters, and by 1989 had finalised his qigong system. For the next three years until 1992, Li was said to have begun testing the system with a small group of students. Falun Gong books published after 1999 no longer contain biographies of Li. These changes reflected a larger trend of Li retreating from the public eye. Since 2000 he has rarely appeared in public, his presence almost entirely being electronic or re-routed through quotations on Falun Gong's websites. Li Hongzhi's biography was removed from Falun Gong websites some time after 2001. Details published by Chinese government The Chinese government began publishing biographies of Li after the suppression of Falun Gong began in July 1999. As such, details on Li's life published in the PRC can be understood as part of the government's publicity campaign against Falun Gong.

Their objective was to "demonstrate that Li Hongzhi was thoroughly ordinary and that his claims to exceptional abilities and experiences were fraudulent". According to Chinese government accounts, Li Hongzhi was born Li Lai, on either July 7 or 27, 1952. As evidence of the claim, authorities quoted Pan Yufang, a midwife who stated that she vividly recalled delivering Li in July 1952. Pan’s account included the assertion that she used oxytocin to assist in the birth (an impossibility, Falun Gong sources point out, because oxytocin was not synthesized until the following year). Li's parents divorced whilst he was a toddler, and Li and his siblings remained with his mother. In 1955 they relocated to Changchun. Li is said to have attended primary and middle school in Changchun between 1960 and 1970. As with most school-aged children in China, Li’s formal education was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution. He did not attend high school, but ultimately completed high school through correspondence courses in the 1980s.

Chinese government accounts emphasize repeatedly that Li lacks a higher education, and was an undistinguished student, notable only for playing the trumpet. After attaining his middle school diploma in 1970, Li was said to have held "a series of unremarkable jobs": between 1970 and 1972, Li worked at an army horse farm; from 1972 to 1978, was a trumpet player in a forest police unit in Jilin Province, and subsequently worked as a clerk in the Grain and Oil Procurement company in Changchun. Unnamed former classmates and co-workers cited in government accounts stress repeatedly that Li was unremarkable, that they never saw him practicing qigong, and that they had no knowledge of the Buddhist and Daoist Masters Li claimed to have studied under. A group of early adopters in Changchun became disenchanted after Li forbid his followers from charging fees for the practice at the end of 1994, among other things. The group left the Falun Gong movement, and proceeded to mail to government ministries a series of accusations against Li, among them that he had not shown any supernatural powers during his youth.

Falun Gong sent detailed rebuttals to the ministries. Following the suppression of Falun Gong in 1999, Chinese authorities republished all these accusations, point by point. Birth date controversy In September 1994, Li changed his date of birth in government records to 13 May 1951. According to Li, his date of birth had been misprinted as one of the pervasive bureaucratic errors of the Cultural Revolution, and he was merely correcting it. Government records originally said that he was born on 7 July 1952, although the Chinese government has sometimes given 27 July. A group of disenchanted followers alleged at the end of 1994 that the birth date had been correct all along, and that Li had only wanted to align it with the birth date of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni (13 May 1951 fell on the 8th day of the fourth lunar moon, the celebration of Sakyamuni's birthday ). This accusation was repeated later by the Chinese authorities. Li rejected the allegation as a "smear", and said "I have never said that I am Sakyamuni.

I am just a very ordinary man." Two points supporting Li's version are that bureaucratic errors of this nature were not uncommon during the Cultural Revolution, and that the new date was never used to make any promotional claim or to bolster Li's spiritual authority. Moreover, as Falun Gong sources have noted, Li would have had to produce corroborating evidence of the 13 May birth date in order to successfully change the government records. Falun Gong Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa, or the Great Law of the Wheel of Dharma, on 13 May 1992 at the fifth Middle School in Changchun, Jilin. From 1992 to 1994 he traveled throughout China, giving lectures and teaching Falun Gong exercises; His following grew rapidly. Li's success was largely linked to the huge popularity enjoyed by qigong in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Deng Xiaoping's social liberalization. He differentiated Falun Gong by prioritising "accessibility to the public" and moral content, away from esoteric notions often found in other Qigong systems.

Falun Gong's teachings are compiled from Li's lectures, and he holds definitional power in the Falun Gong belief system. Li was also critical of alternative systems within the Qigong movement, stating it was "rife with false teachings and greedy and fraudulent 'masters'" and set out to rectify it. Li said that Falun Gong was a part of a "centuries-old tradition of cultivation", and in his texts would often attack those who taught "incorrect, deviant, or heterodox ways". Li differentiated Falun Gong from other movements in Qigong by emphasizing moral values aimed to "purify one's heart and attain spiritual salvation". rather than what he saw as undue emphasis on physical health and the development of supernatural powers. Ian Johnson points out that during the greatest period of Falun Gong book sales in China, Li Hongzhi never received any royalties because all publications were bootleg. Li's success also had a large part to do with people seeking effective alternative medicine treatments at a time when China's health care system was struggling desperately to meet demand.

As the Master of the Falun Gong cultivation system, Li claimed to "purify the students' bodies" and "unblock their main and collateral channels" and in doing so "remove the root of their disease", if they were ill. He also reputedly planted a Falun or "law wheel" in the abdomen of each student, and other "energy mechanisms" in other parts of their bodies. Li also described how his "Law bodies" will protect each practitioner and how he "clear[s] up the students' house and places of practice and then put[s] a covering of safety'". According to Falun Gong groups, Li's early success was recognized at the 1992 and 1993 Beijing Oriental Health Expos. At the first of these events, the fair’s organizer remarked that Falun Gong and Li "received the most praise [of any qigong school] at the fair, and achieved very good therapeutic results". The event helped cement Li’s popularity in the qigong world, and journalistic reports of Falun Gong’s healing powers spread. The following year, Li was made a member of the organizing committee of the Beijing Health Expo, and won several awards and commendations at the event.

In this era, Li developed a positive rapport with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). In 1993, he provided treatment for 100 police officers who had been injured on the job, earning praise from an organization under the MPS. Li gave lectures at the Public Security University in Beijing in 1994, and contributed proceeds from the seminars to a foundation for injured police officers. The publishing ceremony for Li’s seminal book, Zhuan Falun, was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Public Security in January 1995. Life abroad In 1995, Li declared that he had finished teaching Falun Gong in China, and began spreading the practice abroad. His first stop in March 1995 was to the Chinese embassy in Paris, France, where he had been invited to teach the practice. This was followed by seminars in Sweden. Between 1995 and 1999, Li gave lectures in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, and Singapore. Falun Gong associations and clubs began appearing in Europe, North America and Australia, with activities centered mainly on university campuses.

In 1996, the city of Houston named Li as an honorary citizen and goodwill ambassador for his "unselfish public service for the benefit and welfare of mankind". On 25 April 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered near the central appeals office to demand an end to the escalating harassment against the movement, and request the release of the Tianjin practitioners. According to Benjamin Penny, practitioners sought redress from the leadership of the country by going to them and, "albeit very quietly and politely, making it clear that they would not be treated so shabbily." After the event, Li received more measures of recognition from North American municipalities. In May 1999, Li was welcomed to Toronto with greetings from the Mayor of Toronto and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and in the two months that followed also received recognition from the cities of Chicago and San Jose. Li Hongzhi moved to the United States in 1996 with his wife and daughter, and in 1998 became a U.S. permanent resident, settling in New York.

On 10 May 1999, Li gave an interview with Time, during which he stated that "human moral values are no longer good" and reiterated Falun Gong's differentiation from other qigong groups. He also expounded on the "Dharma-ending period" and claimed the existence of aliens were corrupting human beings. He avoided questions about his personal background, stating, "I don't wish to talk about myself at a higher level. People wouldn't understand it." On 29 July 1999, after Falun Gong was banned, the Chinese government leveled a series of charges against Li, including the charge of "disturbing public order", and issued a wanted circular for his arrest. At that time, Li Hongzhi was living in the United States. The Chinese government's request to Interpol for his arrest was rejected on the grounds that the request was a matter "of a political or religious character" and lacked information on any "ordinary law crime he would have committed" The Chinese government also revoked his passport, preventing him from traveling internationally. By April 2001, Mr.

Li Hongzhi had received over 340 awards and proclamations from Australia, Canada, China (before crackdown), Japan, Russia, and the U.S. in recognition of the extraordinary contributions to people's spiritual and physical health, and to freedom of belief in the world. These include certificates of recognition from several governmental bodies in the United States – including Honorary Citizenship awarded by The State of Georgia and city of Atlanta. In 14 March 2001, The Freedom House bestowed Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong with an International Religious Freedom Award for the advancement of religious and spiritual freedom at a ceremony in the United States Senate. In the same year, Li was ranked the most powerful communicator in Asia by Asiaweek magazine "for his power to inspire, to mobilize people and to spook Beijing". He was nominated for the 2001 Sakharov Prize by over 25 members of European Parliament, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 and 2001, and in 2013 was ranked by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the 500 most powerful people in the world. Main publications Falun Gong.

Considered an introductory exposition of the principles of Falun Gong and the traditional Chinese concept of cultivation practice, along with descriptions of the exercises of Falun Gong. First published in April 1993. Nine Day Lectures on Falun Dafa. From 1992 to 1994, Li Hongzhi presented his teachings across China, the contents of which were ultimately edited and compiled into the book Zhuan Falun. The teachings entailed a one to two hour lecture on each of 8 to 10 consecutive days. Exercise instruction was offered thereafter. The final of these lecture series, delivered in Guangzhou, China, in 1994, were recorded live and they form a central part of Falun Gong's teachings. Zhuan Falun-Turning the Law Wheel. Considered the central and most comprehensive exposition of the teachings of Falun Gong. First published in January 1995. Hong Yin - Grand Verses. A collection of short poems written by Li, often touching upon issues pertinent to the traditional Chinese concept of cultivation practice. Lectures and Writings.

Transcripts of Lectures delivered by Li and articles periodically published by him also form a central part of Falun Gong's teachings. Map of Falun Gong - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki Top rankings for Falun Gong 23rd Wikipedia article: Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article: Falun Gong (alternatively Falun Dafa) is a system of beliefs and practices founded in China by Li Hongzhi in 1992. The practice emerged at the end of China's "qigong boom" as a form of qigong practice. Falun Gong differs from competing qigong schools through its absence of daily rituals of worship, its self-consciousness about outside critics, its greater emphasis on morality and the purported theological nature of its teachings. There is on-going debate about Falun Gong's classification as a religion, a new religious movement (NRM), or a " cult ", term used by the Chinese government to describe the movement. Its teachings are derived from qigong , Buddhist and Daoist concepts. In April 1999, over ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Communist Party of China headquarters, Zhongnanhai , in a silent protest following an incident in Tianjin .

Two months later the Chinese government banned the practice through a crackdown and began a large propaganda campaign. Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in China have been reportedly subject to torture, illegal imprisonment, beatings, forced labor, organ harvesting , and psychiatric abuses. Falun Gong has responded with their own media campaign, and have emerged as a notable voice of dissent against the Communist Party of China, by founding organizations such as the Epoch Times , NTDTV and the Shen Yun Performing Arts to publicize their cause. The number of Falun Gong practitioners is unknown, and the group has no organized membership system. In 1998, the Chinese government published a figure of 70 million practitioners in China. Falun Gong asserts over 100 million practitioners of Falun Dafa in "114 countries and regions around the world". Beliefs and teachings Falun Gong was introduced to the public by Li Hongzhi( ) in Changchun , China, in 1992. Its teachings cover spiritual, religious, mystical and metaphysical topics. Falun Gong is an introductory book that discusses qigong, which introduces the principles and provides illustrations and explanations of the exercises involved in Falun Gong practice.

The main body of teachings is articulated in the core book Zhuan Falun ( ), published in late 1994. According to the texts, Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) is a "complete system of mind-body cultivation practice" ( ). 'Truthfulness' ( ), 'Compassion' ( ), and 'Forbearance' ( ) are regarded as the fundamental characteristics of the cosmos—an omnipresent nature that permeates and encompasses everything. In the process of cultivation, the practitioner is supposed to assimilate himself or herself to these qualities by letting go of "attachments and notions," thus returning to the "original, true self." In Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi said that "As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic, you are one that has attained the Tao ." Falun Gong draws on Oriental mysticism and traditional Chinese medicine, criticizes self-imposed limits of modern science, and views traditional Chinese science as an entirely different, yet equally valid knowledge system, according to Yuezhi Zhao, professor in the University of California. Concomitantly, it borrows the language of modern science in representing its cosmic laws.

Zhao says: "Falun gong is not conceptualized as a religious faith; on the contrary, its practitioners, which include doctorate holders from prestigious American universities, see it as 'a new form of science.'" Theoretical background Qigong refers to a wide variety of traditional "cultivation" practices that involve movement and/or regulated breathing designed to be therapeutic. Qigong is practiced for health maintenance purposes, as a therapeutic intervention, as a medical profession, a spiritual path, or a component of Chinese martial arts. Unlike in the West, where many may believe that qigong is a socially neutral, subjective, New Age-style concept incapable of scientific proof, much of China's scientific establishment believes in the existence of qi . Controlled experiments by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the late 1970s and early 1980s concluded that qi, when emitted by a qigong expert, "actually constitutes measurable infrared electromagnetic waves and causes chemical changes in static water through mental concentration." Falun Gong also borrows from Buddhist and Taoist teachings, as well as some aspects of Christianity and Judaism.

Theories about the cultivation of elixir (dan), "placement of the mysterious pass" (xuanguan shewei), among others, are also found in ancient Chinese texts such as The Book of Elixir (Dan Jing), Daoist Canon (Tao Zang) and Guide to Nature and Longevity (Xingming Guizhi). Falun Gong's teachings tap into a wide array of phenomena and cultural heritage that has been debated for ages. However, the definitions of many of the terms used differ somewhat from Buddhist and Daoist traditions. Francesco Sisci says that Falun Gong "re-elaborated old, well-known Taoist and Buddhist routines, used the old vocabulary that people found familiar, and revamped them in a simple, persuasive way." History Falun Gong was founded by Li Hongzhi . Chinese authorities assert that he was a former army trumpet player and grain clerk at the Changchun Cereals Company.

While in his spiritual biography, Li Hongzhi claims that he was taught ways of "cultivation practice" (xiulian) by several masters of the Dao and Buddhist traditions, including Quan Jue, the 10th Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School, a Taoist master from age eight to twelve, and a master of the Great Way School with the Taoist alias of True Taoist from the Changbai Mountains . Li also claimed numerous supernatural feats, including invisibility, levitation, and weather modification. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Gong to the public in May 1992, in Changchun , Jilin . Early versions of Zhuan Falun stated that the system was tested extensively in the years prior to its introduction, while the Chinese government asserted that Falun Gong was based on existing Qigong systems, namely Chanmi Gong and Jiugong Bagua Gong. Like many qigong masters at the time, Li toured major cities in China from 1992 to 1994 to teach the practice. Falun Gong websites say that during this time, Li was granted several awards by Chinese governmental organizations.

According to Ownby, neither Li nor Falun Gong were particularly controversial in the beginning. Li became an "instant star of the qigong movement," and the movement enjoyed success and rapid growth. Group practice in China in July 1999 Li made his lectures more widely accessible and affordable in later years, charging less than competing qigong systems for lectures, tapes, and books. On 4 January 1995, Zhuan Falun , the main book on Falun Gong, was published and became a best-seller in China. In the face of Falun Gong's rise in popularity, a large part of which was attributed to its low cost, competing qigong masters accused Li of unfair business practices. According to Schechter, the qigong society under which Li and other qigong masters belonged asked Li to hike his tuition, but Li refused. By 1995, Falun Gong had established, according to Lowe, a clear competitive advantage over alternative qigong groups in its emphasis on morality and life philosophies, low cost, and its benefits to practitioners' health, and rapidly spread via word-of-mouth. Its rapid growth within China was also related to family ties and community relationships.

Falun Gong attracted a wide range of adherents from all walks of life. Skeptics, Tianjin, and Zhongnanhai Falun Gong's rapid growth in China garnered widespread attention from the media, academics, and members of China's religious community. As early as 1995, critics called Falun Gong "superstitious" and were skeptical of its claimed health benefits. By 1996, the Buddhist Association and Buddhist journals were issuing in-depth critiques of Falun Gong. Skeptic and journalist Sima Nan spoke out against qigong movements as early as 1995, arguing in books, articles and documentaries that qigong masters relied on deception and pseudoscience, tricked the uneducated and gullible, and performed "nothing more than dime-store magic" when demonstrating "supernormal abilities". Sima drew special attention to Falun Gong, alleging that Li Hongzhi used psychological manipulation and a questionable mixture of traditional thought and modern science to sustain his teachings. Articles critical of Falun Gong were also published in major Chinese newspapers.

In response, founder Li Hongzhi called on disciples to "defend the Fa" by lobbying media outlets and government officials to censor content critical of Falun Gong.Palmer (2007), pg249 Many of these attempts were successful, and in 1999, a Beijing Television reporter was fired for airing content critical of Falun Gong as a result of lobbying from Falun Gong practitioners. In April 1999, physicist and pseudoscience critic He Zuoxiu published an article in the Tianjin Normal University ’s Youth Reader magazine, entitled "I Do Not Agree with Youth Practicing qigong," and criticized Falun Gong; He alluded to one of his college students who refused to "speak, drink, eat, or sleep" as a result of practicing Falun Gong. Practitioners regarded the article to be unfair and subsequently gathered in large numbers to protest the article in Tianjin. Falun Gong organizers sent an appeal to the Tianjin Municipal party headquarters and government. Subsequently the police were called, and practitioners were arrested.

Dissatisfied with the treatment in Tianjin, on 25 April, around ten thousand 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. At the time of the Zhongnanhai Incident, Falun Gong had evolved to become a politicized and highly mobilized form of social dissent. Many Falun Gong practitioners were party members, and openly lobbied for the group. While Falun Gong's pre-1999 political involvement is difficult to verify, no other disenfranchised social group has ever staged a mass protest near the Zhongnanhai compound in PRC history. The incident raised questions about the Communist Party's control over the country, and led to fear, animosity and suppression of the movement. 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 the protest at Zhongnanhai—which it claims may have been partly orchestrated by Luo Gan , a long-time opponent of Falun Gong. There was also reportedly rifts in the Politburo at the time of the incident.

Some reports indicate that Premier Zhu Rongji had met with Falun Gong representatives and gave them satisfactory answers, but was criticized by General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin for being too soft. Jiang Zemin is held by Falun Gong to be largely personally responsible for the final decision: Peerman cited reasons such as suspected personal jealousy of Li Hongzhi; Saich postulates at party leaders' anger at Falun Gong's widespread appeal, and ideological struggle.

The ban On 20 July 1999, the Chinese government declared the Research Society of Falun Dafa and the Falun Gong organization under its control to be illegal for having been "engaged in illegal activities, advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social stability."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." 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." In response, Li Hongzhi declared that Falun Gong did not have any particular organization, nor any political objectives. The Chinese authorities branded Falun Gong, along with some other practices, movements or organizations xiejiao ( ), it used the English word "cult" or "evil cult", and introduced a barrage of media material criticizing Falun Gong. 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. Leung remarked that the effort was driven by large-scale propaganda through television, newspapers, radio and internet. According to Johnson, the campaign against Falun Gong extended to many aspects of society, including the media apparatus, police force, military, education system, and workplaces. An extra-constitutional body, the "6-10 Office" was created, charged with monitoring and taking action against various religious groups. Human Rights Watch (2002) noted that families and workplaces were urged to cooperate with the government's position on Falun Gong, while practitioners themselves were subject to severe coercive measures to have them recant. Response in China Protests in Beijing were frequent for the first few years following the 1999 edict. According to Time, a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder Li Hongzhi urged followers to immobilize the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers. Thus, Tiananmen Square was one of the prime locations where practitioners routinely demonstrate despite government deterrence.

By 25 April 2000, within the one year after the massive demonstration at Zhongnanhai, a total of more than 30,000 practitioners were arrested there. Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001. On the eve of Chinese new year on 23 January 2001, seven people attempted to set themselves ablaze at Tiananmen Square. Although the Falun Dafa Information Center disputed that self-immolators were practitioners, on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid suicide and killing, the official Chinese press agency, Xinhua News Agency , and other state media asserted that they were practitioners. The incident received international news coverage, and video footage of the burnings were broadcast later inside China by China Central Television (CCTV). Images of a 12 year old girl, Liu Siying, burning and interviews with the other participants in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise were shown. Time reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far.

After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction. Practitioners' presence in mainland China has become more low-profile, as they opt for alternative methods of informing the citizenry, such as through overnight letterbox drops of CD-ROMs. According to the Chinese government, Falun Gong activists have launched attacks against Sinosat satellites and jammed television signals, replacing regular state television broadcasts with their own material. For example, in March 2002, Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, managed to intercept eight cable television networks in Changchun City and Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and televised a program titled “Self-Immolation or a Staged Act?”. Liu was arrested and subjected to 21 months of imprisonment that led directly to his death. Response outside China Due to its ban in mainland China, Falun Gong practitioners have taken to their cause internationally, especially in Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Britain. Since the ban in China, Falun Gong has alleged that its practitioners in China were subject to torture.

Falun Gong related cases comprise 66% of all reported torture cases in China, according to the Special Rapporteur on torture, and at least half of the labour camp population. Amnesty International urged the government to "take seriously its commitment to prevent torture and take action immediately." The United Nations asked the Chinese government to respond to the various allegations by Falun Gong and human rights groups. Falun Gong practitioners in the United States routinely file cases in U.S. federal courts against Chinese leaders once they step upon foreign soil. According to International Advocates for Justice, Falun Gong has filed the largest number of human rights lawsuits in the 21st century and the charges are among the most severe international crimes defined by international criminal laws. Practitioners engage in promotional activities by handing out flyers in busy intersections, in the subway or at the mall, leaving Falun Gong literature in stores, libraries, laundries etc. Although some of the literature deal with Falun Gong's situation in China, other publications also include the Nine Commentaries of the Communist Party, a critical editorial of the Communist Party of China, which are distributed by practitioners in both DVD and book form.

Falun Gong members also openly participate in activities such as marches, parades, and celebrations of Chinese culture.. Response to these appeals have been mixed. Falun Gong has also been active in establishing university chapters. Practitioners also utilize various parade venues around the world to publicize their group and its message. These have included large events such as the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. to smaller events such as the Auckland New Zealand's Santa Parade. These parades also offer an opportunity for the group to disseminate promotional literature. The response to Falun Gong involvements in some parades have also been mixed. Since 2006, a central part of the Falun Gong campaign focused on alleged organ harvesting from living practitioners. The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong commissioned Canadian parliamentarian David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas to investigate the allegations. The Christian Science Monitor considered the evidence is circumstantial , but persuasive, and criticized the Chinese government for a lack of openness in investigating the claims. Likewise, U.N.

special rapporteur Manfred Nowak, said the report "shows a coherent picture that causes concern." In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted that an increase in organ transplant operations coincided with “the beginning of the persecution of [Falun Gong practitioners]” and demanded an explanation. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied these allegations, saying that the report was based on "rumors and false allegations". The United States Congressional Research Service report by Dr. Thomas Lum stated that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on logical inference without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony, and that the conclusions also rely heavily upon questionable evidence. Human rights activist Harry Wu also voiced doubts about conclusions of the Kilgour-Matas report. David Ownby, a noted expert on Falun Gong, said that he saw "no evidence proving [organ harvesting] is aimed particularly at Falun Gong practitioners." Organisation Falun Gong denies having an organizational structure, and maintains that it is merely a spiritual group that practices a brand of qigong. It does not have an organized membership system, and eschews the term 'membership'. As a result, estimates vary over the number of people practicing Falun Gong.

Before the ban, the government estimated 70 million, and later revised the figure to 2 million. Palmer notes that Falun Gong was highly centralised, and it maintained "absolute centralisation of thought, healing and money." Power flowed directly to or from the Master "whose authority was strictly moral and ideological". Structure In early 1997, Falun Gong began pursuing a more decentralized and loose organizational structure, with its main bases in Beijing and Wuhan . Chinese state media claimed that at the time, the Beijing national office was led by Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and Yao Jie; Li and Wang were members of the Communist Party. Regional offices diverged in their organizational structures. Each office generally maintained a "propaganda department", logistics department, and "doctrine" committee, or variations of those functions thereof, according to reports in state media. At the time of the movement's suppression in July 1999, Falun Gong websites claim that the movement had no "national organization", no regulations or by-laws, and that practitioners were free to join or leave at any time, and there were no membership rosters.

While it relied on traditional network (in a Qigong sense) for dissemination exercise techniques - a nationwide network of local and regional practising stations, the Falun Dafa Research Society (FDRS) was its national umbrella organisation, headed by Li Hongzhi.Palmer (2007), pg241 The Chinese government, in contrast, claims that Falun Gong was a highly organized group, with 39 "main stations", 1,900 "guidance stations", and 28,263 practice sites nation-wide, overseeing a total of 2.1 million practitioners. Østergaard observed that Falun Gong's flat and highly centralised organisation was reminiscent of that of the CCP in the 1920s and 1930s, although its communication and marketing are modern; its central committee and local cells communicate at a 'leader level' using email. Li's charisma and authority gave the organisation great flexibility: it would grow horizontally through splitting of cells when they reached a certain size. Østergaard states (p.

216) that Falun Gong "had so little voice for the rank-and-file members in group political activity that it cannot be regarded as a harbinger of democracy." Finances Only the Master, Li Hongzhi, was allowed to give lectures and to teach; assistants were also barred from giving Qigong therapy and from collecting money. Branches and stations maintained no resources.Palmer (2007), pg241-6.Palmer (2007), pg244. Quote:"If you collect fees, my Dharma-bodies will take away everything you have, so you will not belong to our Falun Dafa, and what you teach will not be our Falun Dafa." Donations and the sale of all materials were centralised through the FDRS, and funds flowed directly to Li Hongzhi. Citing Dai Qing (2000), Østergaard states that by 1997, Li was receiving annual income streams of in excess of ¥ 10 million.

Affiliations Institutionally, Falun Gong was a part of the Scientific Qigong Research Association until 1994 as the Falun Dafa Research Society, then applied to be listed as an organization under the National Minority Affairs Commission, to which it was denied. It subsequently applied to the China Buddhist Federation as a cultural organization to study Buddhism, and was also rejected. Its final attempt at registering under a Party-sanctioned organization was an application to the United Front Department as a "non-religious, academic organization", to which it was also rejected. Outside China A number of "Falun Dafa Associations" now exist around the world, of which the Canadian and American chapters are the most prominent. Not all practitioners are members of an association. Falun Gong have set up groups CIPFG and WOIPFG to lobby foreign governments/legislators, human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch , who now expressed their concerns over allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have also urged the United Nations and international governments to intervene and bring an end to the ongoing persecution. Friends of Falun Gong USA is a non-profit corporation domiciled in New Jersey which raises funds for FLG causes.

Media branches and public relations Falun Gong practitioners have also set up international media organizations to promote their cause and criticize policies of the Communist Party of China. These include The Epoch Times newspaper, NTDTV , Sound of Hope radio station, and Epoch Press Inc. Maria H. Chang of the University of Nevada , says these organisations seem to be "[treated as] front organisations to influence public opinion via a concerted information-PR-propaganda campaign". She argues that, like the Chinese state, Falun Gong has to create organisations that are publicly unaffiliated with it for the organization to survive. Together these organizations also promote Falun Gong activities, including the Chinese New Year Spectacular, performed by the Falun Gong-affiliated Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe. In addition, Falun Gong has a considerable presence on the Internet, with websites such as clearwisdom.net, faluninfo.net, mingui, pureinsight etc., which they use not only to spread Li's teachings, but also to publicise the plight of practitioners with graphic testimonials. While Chinese media have launched an unrelenting assault on Falun Gong since 1999, its response through its various media organizations has earned the practice considerable public relations clout in the West.

In North America and Europe, where Falun Gong practitioners are a strong presence, media obtain much of their information about the spiritual group through Faluninfo.net, although Kavan says it comes from a public relations firm for Falun Gong managed by Gail Rachlin, who is considered part of Li’s inner circle. Kavan also compared Falun Gong practitioners' media strategies with those of the Chinese Communist Party: common traits include intolerance of criticism, issuing blanket denials when accused, exaggerating and sensationalizing claims, and deflecting blame by charging the other of the same offence. Public debate The 'cult' debate Some debate exists over whether Falun Gong should be classified as a "cult", and this classification is more common in some social contexts than in others. Since the 1999 ban the Chinese government has repeatedly classified them as a xiejiao, translated as "evil cult" in English, deeming it harmful to social stability in China. They also claim that Falun Gong damages people's physical and mental health like the Branch Davidians and Aum Shinrikyo .

David Ownby and Ian Johnson have argued that the Chinese state seized the cultic appellation of Falun Gong by borrowing arguments from Margaret Singer and the West's anti-cult movement to blunt the appeal of Falun Gong and put it on the defensive.Western media's response was initially similar to that of the anti-cult movement, but later used less loaded terms to describe the movement. Other scholars, for example, Cheris Shun-ching Chan considers cults to be new religious movements that focus on the individual experience of the encounter with the sacred rather than collective worship, and says that Falun Gong is neither a cult nor a sect, but a new religious movement with Cult-like characteristics. Other scholars avoid the term "cult" altogether because "of the confusion between the historic meaning of the term and current pejorative use" These scholars prefer terms like "spiritual movement" or " new religious movement " to avoid the negative connotations of "cult" or to avoid mis-categorizing those which do not fit mainstream definitions.

Censorship controversy Falun Gong practitioners were criticised by Harbinder Singh Sewak, publisher of the Asian Pacific Post , for their censorship when the Epoch Press stopped the printing of its January 8, 2009 edition allegedly because of a negative review of the Divine Performing Arts . Epoch's president Frank Cui, a practitioner, insisted on the removal of quotes from Chinese officials before he would print; the Post was forced to comply to meet deadlines. Cui said "...news reporters feel that they must 'balance' stories about Falun Gong or events they are involved in by adding the bad words or opinions from the [Chinese Communist Party], but in my feeling, between victim and perpetrator there can never be any neutrality or balance." Singh criticised the hypocrisy, and alleged unlawful interference with economic interests, including breach of contract and deceit. Lawyers representing Falun Dafa denied any association with the actions of Frank Cui. References Haar, Barend ter, Evaluation and Further References , quote: "One difference between the Falun Gong and traditional groups is the absence of rituals of daily worship or rites of passage (...) Striking differences are also the degree of self-consciousness about outside critics already preceding the persecutions from April 1999 onwards".

Falun Gong: Cult or Culture? , ABC Radio National, 22 April 2001. Quote: "That the teacher, the leader, is regarded as being greater and more powerful than normal human beings; that the things that that teacher says are taken as truer and more real and more powerful than anything else, anybody else says, and that there is a well developed, I would call theology, but possibly doctrine, that includes morality, practice and a whole complete world view. So it looks like a religion to me." Frank, Adam. (2004) Falun Gong and the threat of history. in Gods, guns, and globalization: religious radicalism and international political economy edited by Mary Ann Tétreault, Robert Allen Denemark, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, ISBN 1588262537, pp 241-243 Benjamin Penny, The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong , 2001, accessed 16/3/08, Quote: "The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system.

Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years //" Statement of Professor David Ownby , Unofficial Religions in China: Beyond the Party's Rules, 2005. Quote: "The history of Falun Gong, and of the larger qigong movement from which Falun Gong emerged (...) The Falun Gong emerged in 1992, toward the end of the boom, and was in fact one of the least flamboyant of the schools of qigong" Ownby, David, "A History for Falun Gong: Popular Religion and the Chinese State Since the Ming Dynasty", Nova Religio, Vol. ,pp.

223-243 Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838 Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) "Nothing left to lose" , New Zealand Listener, retrieved 6 July 2006 Danny Schechter, Falun Gong's Challenge to China: Spiritual Practice or Evil Cult?, Akashic books: New York, 2001, p. 66 li hongzhi : definition of li hongzhi and synonyms of li hongzhi (English) Founder of Falun Gong Li Hongzhi ( Chinese : 李洪志; pinyin : Lǐ Hóngzhì; born 13 May 1951 or 7 July 1952) is the founder and spiritual master of Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), a "system of mind-body cultivation" in the qigong tradition.

Li Hongzhi began his public teachings of Falun Gong on 13 May 1992 in Changchun , and subsequently gave lectures and taught Falun Gong exercises across China. In 1995 Li began teaching Falun Gong abroad, and in 1998 he settled permanently in the United States. Falun Gong's teachings are compiled from Li's lectures, and Li holds definitional power in that belief system. [2] The movement gained significant popularity in the 1990s, including in high government and qigong circles, but was suppressed by the Chinese government in 1999. Accounts of Li's early life differ between detractors and supporters. Official Chinese sources emphasize the mundane aspects of Li's life as an army grain clerk and trumpet player, while Li's spiritual biographies assert that he was trained by a Buddhist and Taoist masters from childhood and possesses extraordinary powers. Contents 6 External links Early life There are competing accounts of Li's life that surfaced before and after the suppression of Falun Gong began in July 1999, and there is very little authoritative information on his early life.

Accounts between Li’s supporters and detractors diverge significantly, and as a result, should be understood within the context of the political and spiritual purposes for which different narratives were developed. [3] Hagiography An unofficial biography appeared in the first of Li’s major publications, Zhongguo Falun Gong, and was authored by journalist Zhu Huiguang. A second, official spiritual biography appeared in early editions of Falun Gong’s primary text, Zhuan Falun, and was authored by the Falun Dafa Research Society. [4] These biographies placed emphasis on Li’s spiritual development, with minimal details on Li’s ordinary work or family life. The style and content of these biographies is consistent with the "centuries-old tradition of religious biography in China." As Benjamin Penny writes, "as with its precursors [in Chinese history], this biography seeks to establish a genealogy of the figure whose life is recorded and to buttress the orthodoxy of his doctrine." [4] Both biographies were omitted from later printings of Falun Gong books, as Li explained that he did not want people to focus their attention on his own history or circumstances.

[4] These biographies state that Li was born on 13 May, 1951, in the town of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province. The first account, by Zhu Huiguang, stated that Li’s family lived amidst poverty, with his mother earning a wage of only 30 yuan. In this edition, Li was described as developing a "spirit of bearing hardships and tolerating hard work" as he helped care for his younger siblings. The second, official version of his biography emphasized Li’s average social background, stating that he belonged to "ordinary intellectual’s family." [4] Both biographies ascribe to Li innate virtues of compassion and discipline. The official biography focuses mainly on the lineage of Daoist and Buddhist masters who he says provided Li with instruction from an early age. At four, he was trained by Quan Jue, the Tenth Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School. [5] By age eight, he had acquired "the superb great law with supernatural powers", [4] which was supposed to include invisibility, levitation, etc.

[4] Master Quan left him at age twelve, to be replaced by Taoist master Baji Zhenren, who provided instruction in martial arts and physical skills. [3] A third Master arrived in 1972 from the Great Way School. Zhendaozi (literally, "True Taoist"), came from the Changbai Mountains near the North Korean border. [5] Unlike Li’s other spiritual tutors, the True Taoist wore ordinary attire, and taught Li the way of inner cultivation through Qigong , stressing xinxing (i.e. "mind or heart nature, moral character"). Li’s training in this period mostly took place under cover of night, possibly due to the political environment of the Cultural Revolution . [3] Zhu Haiguang’s version of the biography notes that Li consistently refused to partake in the campaigns of the Cultural Revolution, never joining the Red Guards or communist organizations. [4] A fourth Master — a woman from the Buddha School—began instructing Li in 1974.

After training with these four Masters, Li's "energy potency had reached a very high level." [4] In Zhuan Falun, Li further claims 'miracles' he performed that while practising with disciples in 1990. For example, he was able to push away stormy weather and hold off rain for the whole duration of the practice session, and "half an hour" afterwards. His personal development plateaued around this time, with the biography stating that Li was able "to see the truth of the universe, many more beautiful things which have existed there for a long time, as well as the origin, development and future of mankind." [4] In 1982, Li moved to the city of Changchun for "civilian employment," the implication being that his previous work was with the military. [4] At some point in the 1980s, Li married and had a daughter. [3] In 1984, Li began synthesizing the teachings he received into what would become Falun Dafa.

The practice would not be exactly the same as what had been transmitted to him, as those systems were not suitable to be "popularised on a large scale." Li began observing the teaching methods of other qigong masters, and by 1989 had finalised his qigong system. For the next three years until 1992, Li was said to have begun testing the system with a small group of students. [4] Falun Gong books published after 1999 no longer contain biographies of Li. These changes reflected a larger trend of Li retreating from the public eye. [4] Since 2000 he has rarely appeared in public, his presence almost entirely being electronic or re-routed through quotations on Falun Gong's websites. [4] Li Hongzhi's biography were removed from Falun Gong websites some time after 2001. [4] Details published by Chinese government The Chinese government began publishing biographies of Li after the suppression of Falun Gong began in July 1999. As such, details on Li's life published in the PRC must be understood as part of the government's publicity campaign against Falun Gong.

[3] [4] Their objective was to "demonstrate that Li Hongzhi was thoroughly ordinary and that his claims to exceptional abilities and experiences were fraudulent." [3] According to Chinese government accounts, Li Hongzhi was born Li Lai, on either July 7 or 27, 1952. [3] As evidence of the claim, authorities quoted Pan Yufang, a midwife who stated that she vividly recalled delivering Li in July 1952. [4] Pan’s account included the assertion that she used oxytocin to assist in the birth [3] (an impossibility, Falun Gong sources point out, because oxytocin was not synthesized until the following year [6] ). Li's parents divorced whilst he was a toddler, and Li and his siblings remained with this mother. In 1955 they relocated to Changchun. Li is said to have attended primary and middle school in Changchun between 1960 and 1970. [3] As with most school-aged children in China, Li’s formal education was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution.

He did not attend high school, but ultimately completed high school through correspondence courses in the 1980s. [3] Chinese government accounts emphasize repeatedly that Li lacks a higher education, and was an undistinguished student, notable only for playing the trumpet. After attaining his middle school diploma in 1970, Li was said to have held "a series of unremarkable jobs": [3] between 1970 and 1972, Li worked at an army horse farm; from 1972 to 1978, was a trumpet player in a forest police unit in Jilin Province, and subsequently worked as a clerk in the Grain and Oil Procurement company in Changchun. [3] Unnamed former classmates and co-workers cited in government accounts stress repeatedly that Li was unremarkable, that they never saw him practicing qigong, and that they had no knowledge of the Buddhist and Daoist Masters Li claimed to have studied under. [3] A group of early adopters in Changchun became disenchanted after Li forbid his followers from charging fees for the practice at the end of 1994, among other things.

The group left the Falun Gong movement, and proceeded to mail to government ministries a series of accusations against Li, among them that he had not shown any supernatural powers during his youth. [7] Falun Gong sent detailed rebuttals to the ministries. [7] Following the suppression of Falun Gong in 1999, Chinese authorities republished all these accusations, point by point. [8] [7] Birth date controversy In September 1994, [9] Li changed his date of birth in government records to May 13, 1951. According to Li, his date of birth had been misprinted as one of the pervasive bureaucratic errors of the Cultural Revolution , and he was merely correcting it. [10] [7] Government records originally said that he was born on the 7th of July 1952, [1] although the Chinese government has sometimes given 27th of July. [3] A group of disenchanted followers alleged at the end of 1994 that the birth date had been correct all along, and that Li had only wanted to align it with the birth date of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni .

[7] (13th May 1951 fell in the 8th day of the 4th lunar moon, the celebration of Sakyamuni's birthday) [11] This accusation was repeated later by the Chinese authorities. [7] [8] Li rejected the allegation as a "smear," and said "I have never said that I am Sakyamuni. I am just a very ordinary man." [10] [8] Two points supporting Li's version are that bureaucratic errors of this nature were not uncommon in the Cultural Revolution, [8] and that the new date was never used to make any promotional claim or bolster Li's spiritual authority. Moreover, as Falun Gong sources have noted, Li would have had to produce corroborating evidence of the May 13 birth date in order to successfully change the government records. [8] Falun Gong Main article: Falun Gong Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa, or the Great Law of the Wheel of Dharma, on 13 May 1992 at the fifth Middle School in Changchun, Jilin.

From 1992 to 1994 he traveled throughout China, giving lectures and teaching Falun Gong exercises; His following grew rapidly. Li's success was largely linked to the huge popularity enjoyed by qigong in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Deng Xiaoping 's social liberalization. He differentiated Falun Gong by prioritising "accessibility to the public" and moral content, away from esoteric notions often found in other Qigong systems. [4] [12] Falun Gong's teachings are compiled from Li's lectures, and he holds definitional power in the Falun Gong belief system. [2] Li was also critical of alternative systems within the Qigong movement, stating it was "rife with false teachings and greedy and fraudulent 'masters'" and set out to rectify it.

Li said that Falun Gong was a part of a "centuries-old tradition of cultivation," and in his texts would often attack those who taught "incorrect, deviant, or heterodox ways." [13] Li differentiated Falun Gong from other movements in Qigong by emphasizing moral values aimed to "purify one's heart and attain spiritual salvation." [14] rather than what he saw as undue emphasis on physical health and the development of supernatural powers. Ian Johnson points out that during the greatest period of Falun Gong book sales in China, Li Hongzhi never received any royalties because all publications were bootleg. [15] Li's success also had a large part to do with people seeking effective alternative medicine treatments at a time when China's health care system was struggling desperately to meet demand. [12] As the Master of the Falun Gong cultivation system, Li claimed to "purify the students' bodies" and "unblock their main and collateral channels" and in doing so "remove the root of their disease," if they were ill. He also reputedly planted a Falun or "law wheel" in the abdomen of each student, and other "energy mechanisms" in other parts of their bodies.

Li also described how his "Law bodies" will protect each practitioner and how he "clear[s] up the students' house and places of practice and then put[s] a covering of safety'". [4] According to Falun Gong groups, Li's early success was recognized at the 1992 and 1993 Beijing Oriental Health Expos. At the first of these events, the fair’s organizer remarked that Falun Gong and Li "received the most praise [of any qigong school] at the fair, and achieved very good therapeutic results." [3] The event helped cement Li’s popularity in the qigong world, and journalistic reports of Falun Gong’s healing powers spread. [3] The following year, Li was made a member of the organizing committee of the Beijing Health Expo, and won several awards and commendations at the event. [3] In this era, Li developed a positive rapport with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). In 1993, he provided treatment for 100 police officers who had been injured on the job, earning praise from an organization under the MPS.

Li gave lectures at the Public Security University in Beijing in 1994, and contributed proceeds from the seminars to a foundation for injured police officers. [3] The publishing ceremony for Li’s seminal book, Zhuan Falun, was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Public Security in January 1995. [3] Li Hongzhi lectures on Falun Dafa at the UN General Assembly Hall , Geneva , 1998 Life abroad See also: History of Falun Gong In 1995, Li declared that he had finished teaching Falun Gong in China, and began spreading the practice abroad. His first stop in March 1995 was to the Chinese embassy in Paris , France, where he had been invited to teach the practice. This was followed by seminars in Sweden. [3] Between 1995 and 1999, Li gave lectures in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, and Singapore. [3] Falun Gong associations and clubs began appearing in Europe, North America and Australia, with activities centered mainly on university campuses.

[2] In 1996, the city of Houston named Li as an honorary citizen and goodwill ambassador for his "unselfish public service for the benefit and welfare of mankind." As news spread of Falun Gong's anti-government protests which mobilized tens of thousands to surround the Chinese government headquarters , Li received more measures of recognition from North American municipalities. In May 1999, Li was welcomed to Toronto with greetings from the mayor and the provincial governor general, and in the two months that followed also received recognition from the cities of Chicago and San Jose . [16] Li Hongzhi moved to the United States in 1996 with his wife and daughter, and in 1998 became a U.S. permanent resident, settling in New York. [14] [3] [17] On 10 May 1999, Li gave an interview with Time, during which he stated that "human moral values are no longer good" and reiterated Falun Gong's differentiation from other qigong groups. He also expounded on the " Dharma-ending period " and claimed the existence of aliens were corrupting human beings.

He avoided questions about his personal background, stating, "I don't wish to talk about myself at a higher level. People wouldn't understand it." [18] On 29 July 1999, after Falun Gong was banned, the Chinese government levelled a series of charges against Li, including the charge of " disturbing public order ." [19] At that time, Li Hongzhi was living in the United States. The Chinese government's request to Interpol for his arrest was rejected on the grounds that the request was a matter "of a political or religious character" and lacked information on any "ordinary law crime he would have committed" [19] The Chinese government also revoked his passport, preventing him from traveling internationally. [19] Li Hongzhi has received awards and proclamations in a number of countries. [20] [21] These include certificates of recognition from several governmental bodies in the United States - including Honorary Citizenship awarded by The State of Georgia and city of Atlanta.

[22] In 14 March 2001, The Freedom House bestowed Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong with an International Religious Freedom Award for the advancement of religious and spiritual freedom at a ceremony in the United States Senate. [23] In the same year, Li was ranked the most powerful communicator in Asia by Asiaweek magazine "for his power to inspire, to mobilize people and to spook Beijing." [24] Main Publications Falun Gong . Considered an introductory exposition of the principles of Falun Gong and the traditional Chinese concept of cultivation practice, along with descriptions of the exercises of Falun Gong. First published in April 1993. Nine Day Lectures on Falun Dafa . From 1992 to 1994, Li Hongzhi presented his teachings across China, the contents of which were ultimately edited and compiled into the book Zhuan Falun. The teachings entailed a one to two hour lecture on each of 8 to 10 consecutive days. Exercise instruction was offered thereafter.

The final of these lecture series, delivered in Guangzhou, China, in 1994, were recorded live and they form a central part of Falun Gong's teachings. Zhuan Falun -Turning the Law Wheel. Considered the central and most comprehensive exposition of the teachings of Falun Gong. First published in January 1995. Hong Yin - Grand Verses. A collection of short poems written by Li, often touching upon issues pertinent to the traditional Chinese concept of cultivation practice. Lectures and Writings . Transcripts of Lectures delivered by Li and articles periodically published by him also form a central part of Falun Gong's teachings. References

Question: Literally 'Practice of the Wheel of Law' in Chinese, what system of mind and body cultivation has been the focus of international attention since the Chinese government began a crackdown on it?
Answer: Falun Gong (or) Falun Dafa