Issue 1 FREE 2012 SPECIAL EDITION

Falun Gong, and Why it Matters

Making Sense of Today’s China Also Inside

sk a China watcher thing will be missing from Making the Deal what the five most criti- the analysis. Something 4 In China, be careful whose hand you shake Acal factors to understand- 100-million-people big. ing China are and you will Something that, once under- Newfound Health hear a range of responses. stood, can fundamentally 6 Millions are discovering a path to wellness Economic growth. Ram- change how we think about pant corruption. The gap China and, as importantly, Sorting out the Facts between rich and poor. how we engage with it. 8 How misinformation was used to breed hatred Communist Party infight- That something is ing. And so on. Gong. Cultural Renewal But in most cases, some- Continued on page 2 10Through , ancient ways come to life 2 politics Making Sense of Today’s China Why Falun Continued from front page Few outside China have much knowledge of it. Those who do, Gong is the have a vague sense that it’s old news. But if you truly grasp this Missing issue, insight is shed on some of the most intractable paradoxes of Piece to the present day China:

• Why does China still produce Puzzle so many tainted products despite never-ending campaigns against corruption?

• Why is the Communist Party investing billions in internet censorship, surveillance cameras, and labor camps while schools and hospitals go without desper- ately needed resources?

• Why are China’s leaders so reti- cent to loosen their grip over the judiciary and media, even at the cost of their credibility in the pub- lic’s eyes? NOT JUST LATTÉS AND IPHONES: To truly know today’s China, one has to look beyond the Starbucks and Apple The answer to this puzzle begins stores to a brutal campaign that has turned right and wrong upside down. in 1992, exactly 20 years ago, in a humble schoolhouse in northeast the moral fabric of Chinese society. tality—as they pertained to Falun China. That day, Mr. , Imagine As the words Truthfulness, Com- Gong, and beyond. Did You Know? the latest in a lineage of spiritual passion, and Tolerance became Homemade leaflets were made, masters dating back thousands of taboo, upholding these values DVDs were burned, banners were • By 1999, 100 million people an effort to in China were practicing years, gave his first public teach- became difficult and dangerous— hung, tools to circumvent internet Falun Gong, slowly stabiliz- ing of Falun Gong. eradicate a Falun Gong practitioner or not— censorship were developed. (See ing society amidst a ferocious atmosphere of “Unlikely Heroes,” page 15.) • The persecution unleashed A force for good practice followed lies, torture, and discrimination. Today, after over a decade of against them that year Falun Gong was different from Officials who actively participated oppression, some 20 to 40 million reversed this trend, spawn- other practices being by 1 in every 12 in the torture and killing of Falun Falun Gong practitioners actively ing corruption, torture, and taught. While it did include slow- Gong adherents were promoted. circulate information in China a host of intractable prob- lems that will remain unre- moving energy exercises, it also citizens. Family members were forced to turn or send it abroad. In turn, invest- solved until the campaign involved something more— against each other. Members of the ment in surveillance cameras and ends teachings that guided students on public were offered cash rewards for tracking equipment is skyrocket- • The Falun Gong story offers a path of moral self-improvement turning in their neighbors. ing in China as the Party redou- critical insight into events in and discovery in their daily lives. Meanwhile, those who bles its efforts to detain them. China, including the recent At the core of these teachings refused to collaborate or stood Meanwhile, distorted promo- infighting in the Commu- were three principles and the eradicate Falun Gong from the up against the campaign were tion criteria breed lawlessness nist Party’s top ranks desire to align one’s self with face of China. fired, abducted, imprisoned, and and corruption throughout soci- them in thought and action— Jiang was jealous and fearful sometimes killed. Even attorneys ety, from the food sector to the Truthfulness, Compassion, and of how something outside the and honest government officials medical industry. Tolerance (Zhen 真 Shan 善 Ren 忍 ). Party’s control could inspire tens weren’t spared. At a time when Chinese citi- The practice spread quickly by of millions of people, even if it was Hundreds of thousands of hard- zens are protesting daily for more word of mouth, as people saw the for the good of society. Experts at working, upright people from accountability and freedom, Party lives of those around them chang- the time said the move was Jiang’s every profession and of every leaders dare not loosen their grip. ing. Sickly grandmothers trans- personal decision, even obsession. age were sent to labor camps for To do so, they fear, would lead to formed into the epitome of health. In going after Falun Gong, Jiang “re-education.” It was a domestic their crimes against Falun Gong Couples nearing divorce saved launched an assault on a core con- brain drain—and moral crisis—of being revealed and their best their marriage. Within seven tingent of mainstream society. staggering proportions. weapons—imprisonment, propa- years, an estimated 100 million Imagine what was entailed by an ganda, and censorship—neutered. people had taken up Falun Gong. effort to eradicate a practice fol- Here to stay For those outside China, these The impact extended beyond lowed by 1 in every 12 citizens. Despite all of Jiang’s efforts, Falun dynamics present a dilemma. Do the family circle. Policemen who Jiang needed massive propa- Gong would not disappear. The we engage with the Communist learned Falun Gong would stop ganda campaigns to demonize ideas it espoused and the benefits Party powers that be in order to taking bribes, and workers would Falun Gong. New labor camps and it offered were too compelling protect short-term interests and a cease stealing from their factory. makeshift detention centers to to be erased—even under the superficial appearance of stability? Though the country was still hold the huge influx of detainees. relentless brutality of a well-oiled Or, do we resist the Party’s co- under the Communist Party’s An extralegal police task force to authoritarian machine. optation tactics and do our utmost thumb, this critical mass was implement the plan. And an inter- Falun Gong practitioners per- to preserve a force that offers the beginning to truly stabilize Chi- net censorship apparatus to stop sisted in their faith, with many prospects of long-term hope, sta- nese society. people from learning the truth resuming the practice after bility, and prosperity for China? UNEXPECTED MESSAGE: Resi- about what was happening. release from custody. At this critical moment in his- dents of Jiamusi in northeast China A fateful decision More than that, practitioners tory, China’s future may seem awoke in July 2011 to find this ban- This trajectory dramatically Repressing virtue, responded with a massive, inno- unpredictable. But one thing is cer- ner reminding them: “Truthfulness, reversed in July 1999, when then- rewarding vice vative and nonviolent movement tain: one can’t go wrong by stand- Compassion, Tolerance is good. Fa- Communist Party chief Jiang Besides the human and financial to encourage other Chinese to see ing up for the cause of Truthful- lun Dafa is good.” Zemin launched a campaign to cost of the campaign, it also tore at through the Party’s lies and bru- ness, Compassion, and Tolerance. politics 3

China Today The Story Behind the Headlines Blood on Bo Xilai’s Hands

n February 6, 2012, Wang of conscience and selling them at Lijun, the former police Map of China high prices to rich patients. (see What is Falun Gong Asking for? chief for the megacity page 9) OChongqing, walked into a U.S. More recently in , at Since the Chinese Commu- Consulate in southwest China to least 300 Falun Gong practitioners nist Party first launched the seek political asylum, setting off were detained and sent to special persecution, Falun Gong one of the biggest scandals in Chi- province brainwashing centers in a Bo and practitioners have been urging that the following nese politics in decades. Wang-led “strike hard” campaign. three steps be taken to end About 24 hours later, Wang left All of these details are critical to it. As circumstances change, the building, walked into the understanding the current scan- Chinese officials may try to hands of Beijing police, and was dal and party infighting. Yet, they negotiate to escape liability. immediately taken away to an have been almost entirely absent But, to do justice to the victims and ensure such undisclosed location. from mainstream news coverage. horrors do not repeat, the Chongqing In the fallout from the incident, The media would seem to have a world needs to resist their Bo Xilai, head of the Communist blind spot when it comes to Falun attempts and insist on the Party in Chongqing, was removed Gong. Consider these following: from his post and more impor- points: Release all Falun Gong tantly, from the party’s Politburo. prisoners of conscience Bo’s hopes of being chosen for the • First, in light of At this moment, hundreds all-powerful Standing Committee the blood already of thousands of Falun Gong that rules China were promptly on his hands, Bo’s practitioners are still wrong- dashed. Bo as governor and deputy Com- former torture link to a murder fully held at detention centers, labor camps, and As the scandal has unfolded, munist Party head, Wang as head victims filing suddenly doesn’t prisons, rendering them the accusations have surfaced that he of police and a top party cadre in lawsuits against seem so unlikely. largest group of prisoners and his wife were involved in the Jinzhou. There, the two actively him in several Bo Xilai, former of conscience in China. The murder of a British businessman promoted the campaign against countries around Liaoning governor • Second, according first step to ending the last year. That seems like quite a Falun Gong as part of their alle- the world. In to a leaked 2007 U.S. campaign is releasing every single one of them. skeleton in Bo’s closet. giance to . November 2009, he was one of diplomatic cable, Bo was essen- But dig into the Falun Gong Under Bo’s watch, Liaoning five Chinese officials indicted by a tially demoted from Minister of Compensate all victims story, and one finds that this is emerged as one of the deadliest Spanish court for these abuses. Commerce to governing Chongq- of persecution just one of many skeletons. provinces for Falun Gong and Meanwhile, Wang was involved ing in part because of embarrass- Arrangements must be Wang and Bo’s history goes back home to the notorious Masanjia in the organ transplant industry, ment he was causing the regime made to compensate all victims of the persecution, long before they took up positions forced labor camp—referred to by and linked to the gruesome prac- with the torture lawsuits against whether they suffered in Chongqing. In the early 2000s, victims as a “den of evil.” tice of forcibly removing organs him. torture, sexual abuse, both were in Liaoning province— Bo’s complicity has resulted in from living Falun Gong prisoners confiscation of property, or • Third, some reports indicate expulsion from school. that among the dirt on Bo, which Bring the primary perpe- Wang offered U.S. consular offi- trators to justice Ms. Gao Rongrong, 37, disfigured and killed cials, were incriminating details The four men pictured related to the campaign against below have been at the Falun Gong. forefront of the campaign In July 2003, during the time from its start. Each of the when Bo Xilai was governor of them should be tried and • Lastly, this past March, inter- Liaoning, Ms. Gao, an accountant, punished for the crimes was sent to the province’s net censorship suddenly loos- he committed, along with notorious Masanjia forced labor ened for searches like “Wang any close associates who camp for practicing Falun Gong. Lijun organ harvesting” in a proactively participated in At the camp, guards tortured her likely sign that members of torture and killing. All four have already been sued with electric batons, burning and the Hu and Wen ruling faction outside China by victims disfiguring her once-radiant face. (known for being less hard- and in 2009, two of them After years of persecution, she line on Falun Gong) wish to were indicted for torture was tortured to death on March 6, discredit rivals such as Bo, and and genocide by a Spanish 2005, at the age of 37. disagree with their handling of judge. Falun Gong.

Meet the Culprits

Jiang Zhou Liu Jing Zemin Yongkang Head of the Jiang’s right-hand Former Com- The Communist notorious 610 man who held munist Party Party’s security Office from Zhou’s position head and the key chief and a 2001 to 2009, a from 2003 to figure behind member of the secret police task 2007. He zealously the persecution. Politburo Stand- force under the implemented the He initiated it and forced officials at ing Committee. He personally traveled Communist Party that has branches in campaign in its all levels to participate in eradicating around China urging local officials to every city to oversee the persecution early years. Falun Gong. intensify their suppression of Falun locally. Gong. 4 business

Business at What You Should Know About Your Own Risk Foreign firms in China are routinely pressured to assist the regime in its repression Doing Business in China of Falun Gong. Refusing can seem risky, but com- plying comes with its own consequences.

(But are never told) Yahoo! and censorship In China, search engines In business, knowledge can be like Yahoo! are required to return only Communist as critical to success as capital, Party-approved results for sometimes more so. Know your “Falun Gong.” business. Know your competition. Wittingly or unwittingly, Know your market. Most impor- their censorship contributes tantly—know your risks. to a climate of ignorance and hatred in which inno- When it comes to doing business cent people are arbitrarily in China, there’s one key area of abducted, abused, tortured knowledge most people miss, but and sometimes killed simply that can have a lasting impact on for following the spiritual China operations: Falun Gong. path of their choice. Google’s desire to cease That’s right, Falun Gong. The such complicity was one of spiritual practice that has been the the reasons for the firm’s target of a nationwide persecutory 2010 withdrawal of its search campaign since 1999. Be it the dis- engine from China. cipline’s inspirational power, the Mary Kay and discrimination actions of its 100 million believers, One of the world’s largest dis- or the pervasive presence of the tributors of cosmetics, Mary Communist Party’s effort to crush Kay, found itself in hot water them, Falun Gong today constitutes in 2003 when news emerged one of the most influential factors that all of their sales reps in China were being required to in Chinese society, politics, and by sign a form that they did not extension, business. practice Falun Gong before Ignore this factor and if you’re not being hired. careful, you could quickly find your- NOT JUST BUSINESS AS USUAL: There’s often a shadier side to doing business in China. It’s best to be prepared, The discovery evoked an self and your business in trouble. as your principles are on the line. angry lashing from members of Congress. Mary Kay was We offer several key tips to bear forced into an embarrassing in mind when navigating the in suppressing Falun Gong. And the heartland of China. It is quint- people and the spiritual heart of retreat and a protracted pub- business landscape of China. some, to alarming degrees. essentially Chinese—an ancient China—is of vital importance. lic relations effort to repair These officials have spouted self-improvement practice As the CCP’s power wanes, this its image. Know your contacts hatred against local residents, whose roots stem from China’s won’t be something soon forgot- Cisco and surveillance Most major industries in China sent innocent people to forced 5,000-year-old cultural and spiri- ten by the nation’s 1.3 billion peo- In May 2011, Cisco Systems are either run by senior Chinese labor camps, and in some cases, tual traditions. ple—or even future generations. was slapped with a class- Communist Party (CCP) officials or established monetary rewards for So, while fear of punishment or action lawsuit in San Fran- heavily influenced by them. This torture. In a word, they are com- deception by CCP propaganda may Know your bottom line cisco for allegedly pitching, is no secret, and a successful busi- plicit in crimes against human- have pushed many to initially show One of the most complex aspects designing, and building tech- nology for Chinese authori- ness plan typically involves hav- ity. The men featured on page 5 support for the Party’s anti-Falun of international business is ties to identify and track ing a clear strategy for navigating (see “Hand Shaking”) are but a few Gong campaign, practitioners’ navigating the governing and Falun Gong practitioners. the influence of such officials. But examples. grassroots efforts to educate the regulatory practices of the coun- Among the evidence cited who are these people? In your business dealings in Chinese public are gaining traction. try where you are operating. In in the complaint was a Cisco When China’s top Party official China, you will inevitably encoun- In turn, millions upon millions are China, this means understanding PowerPoint presentation that offered solutions for help- Jiang Zemin ordered the suppres- ter high-ranking members of the rediscovering an affinity towards how to effectively engage with ing the authorities to capture sion of Falun Gong in 1999, it not Communist Party. Before you traditional Chinese culture, and the Communist Party (since all Falun Gong practitioners. only marked the start of persecu- reach out to shake their hands, Falun Gong’s place therein. Increas- major government posts are held The suit names several Cis- tion for those practicing it. It also consider where those hands have ingly, ordinary citizens are taking a by Party members). co executives as defendants, triggered a purging of the ranks been and just how much suffering public stand for Falun Gong. What will this engagement look including CEO John Cham- bers. Should the plaintiffs within the Party itself. they may have caused. Lawyers who a few years ago like? What demands will be put win the case, Cisco will be Those who toed the line or didn’t dare to take on Falun Gong on your business? How far are liable for millions of dollars actively advanced the bloody Know your market cases are defying Party orders you willing to go to meet those in damages and its stand- campaign were promoted. Those If there’s one thing virtually and actively arguing against the demands, and at what cost? ing in the public eye will be who refused or stood up for people anyone doing business in China persecution in open court. Vil- Again, Falun Gong arises as a cen- irreversibly harmed. they knew had done nothing agrees on, it’s that the market lagers who years ago alienated tral factor. It’s a key issue that Chi- wrong were punished or demoted. potential of the country’s 1.3 Falun Gong practitioners for fear nese officials often use to test the Today, after more than a decade billion would-be consumers is of collective punishment are now waters with foreign companies: are sible, or may yield deadly outcomes. of this warped incentive struc- impossible to ignore. signing petitions demanding the they willing to set aside moral and Refuse such pressures and yes, ture, the vast majority of offi- But who are the Chinese people release of their wrongfully impris- legal obligations to curry favor with in the short-term there may be a cials at the city, provincial, and really? What do they value, and oned Falun Gong neighbors. the regime and turn a profit? So, be lost contract or two. But comply, national level have had a hand how does one secure their long- Meanwhile, despite years of on your guard. Examples of foreign and in the long-term you will lose term trust? suppression, Falun Gong prac- firms in China being pressured to much more. Did You Know? With the media tightly con- titioners themselves—many of assist the regime in its repression To emerge unscathed from this trolled and Party officials in them highly educated—remain abound (see sidebar “Business at world, you have to know what • Many Chinese officials charge at every level of society, a potential customer base tens of Your Own Risk”). your bottom line is—the ethical involved in international business have had a hand the Party line on Falun Gong millions strong. The key point is this: when doing one as much as the financial one. in torture and killing appears dominant, while Falun For anyone looking to build and business in China, particularly on a What is your strategy for not com- • Millions of potential Chi- Gong seems marginalized. But maintain long lasting market- large scale, know that you are oper- plying with a demand that you’d nese consumers oppose look beneath the surface and a share in the world’s most popu- ating within a mafia-like system. regret in the future? the persecution of Falun different reality emerges. lous country, what is held in the In this corrupt and violent world, In China, you need to know Gong Unlike the Communist Party, hearts of its people cannot be there are rules about whom you your business and you need to • Abuses in China are finding their way into the products which was imported from the ignored. Where a corporation, or must obey. And there are acts you know the market, but perhaps we buy West and forced upon the Chinese any entity, stands—with the rul- will be asked to carry out, some of most important of all, you need to people, Falun Gong arises from ing Communist Party or with the which are illegal, morally reprehen- know your stance on Falun Gong. business 5

Faces of China’s Forced Labor Camps

Ms. Zhang Lianying, a CPA, was sent to labor camps three times for Mr. Chen Gang, a musician, was held at Beijing’s A graduate of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, Mr. practicing Falun Gong. In 2008, police burst into her Beijing home in notorious Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp for a year Huang Kui spent two years in detention and three years in a a pre-Olympic crackdown, put a sack over her head, and dragged and a half, where torture almost left him crippled. forced labor camp making Christmas tree lights and flower her away. She was taken to the Masanjia labor camp, stripped na- After an international campaign, he was freed and ornaments for export. Kui’s time in the labor camp featured ked, and tortured. In 2011, she escaped to the United States. now lives in the United States. sixteen-hour days, beatings, torture, and sleep-deprivation.

Where Do Your Think You’re Safe from the Hazards Chopsticks Come From? of Repression in China? Think Again.

Wooden chopsticks are a corner- network of gulags. Like Chen, Sitting on the back porch of my does it seem they are on the rise moted and kind ones were purged stone of Chinese takeout in cities they are typically abducted from Albuquerque home, nestled in even as oversight processes are in a cleansing of the Communist across the world. Unfortunately, their home, taken to a police sta- the soft light of the American supposedly improving? Party ranks. Policies were imple- they’re also a regular feature in tion, and told they will be sent to Southwest, I casually put down Poor manufacturing is partly mented with oppressing Falun testimonies of Falun Gong practi- a labor camp for up to three years my newspaper, looked at my son responsible, but there’s something Gong as the core objective, dis- tioners who fled China after being for “re-education”—an Orwellian playing with his toy train and more pervasive and sinister hap- regarding their implications for imprisoned in one of the country’s sounding word if there ever was suddenly realized: China’s corrup- pening in China: an erosion of social and economic wellness. many labor camps. one. tion could kill him. basic morals. It’s not that products In short, the persecution of “The quota was around 7,000, Once at the camps, they are I had just finished reading are merely made of poor quality Falun Gong spawned an enor- sometimes 10,000. If you didn’t tortured, shocked with electric about the latest tainted product material. They are made with haz- mous backslide in morals. CNN’s finish, you weren’t allowed to batons, deprived of sleep, and from China—Thomas the Tank ardous material and consciously senior analyst Willy Lam called it sleep,” says Chen Gang (pictured more often than not, forced Engine toy trains—only to real- so. the greatest crisis facing China. above), recalling wrapping to work over 12 hours a day ize that was the exact train he During the 1990s, China, So long as such a systematic per- chopsticks in a Beijing labor manufacturing products, some was playing with there on the though still autocratic, saw secution persists, Chinese officials camp where he was sent for intended for export. deck. Needless to say, the train is advances in freedom, law, and and common people will con- practicing Falun Gong. “It was Some glue soles onto shoes. Oth- now in the garbage and I washed the economy. When the per- tinue to lose sight of our common a dirty environment. We had to ers sew clothing. Many wrap dis- my son’s hands with soap—three secution of Falun Gong was humanity and responsibility for go months without a shower.” posable chopsticks in unsanitary times. launched in 1999, however, it each other’s wellbeing. That moral Today, Falun Gong practitioners conditions. Shoddy products from China threw many institutions back crisis will result in more and more remain an enormous percent- So you might want to opt for a are nothing new, but how do they several decades. dangers being exported from the age of detainees in China’s vast fork next time you get takeout. come to be that way, and why Tyrannical officials were pro- world’s factory.

Know Whose Name Positions held Track record on Falun Gong Bo Xilai head in Under Bo’s watch, Liaoning province became a hotbed of torture Chongqing; Minister of Commerce and and killing, and a central node in the illegal harvesting of Falun Hand You’re member of Communist Party Central Gong organs. Bo has been sued for torture in multiple countries, Committee; Governor, Liaoning Province. and judged liable in one court already.

Shaking Liu Qi Chinese Communist Party head and Beijing police under Liu’s command publicly beat practitioners. In former Mayor of Beijing; head of the 2004, a U.S. federal court found Liu liable for torture and sexual Beijing Olympics Organizing Commit- assault. Some 8,000 practitioners were detained in the run-up to Chinese officials and the tee; member of the CCP Politburo the Olympics, which Liu oversaw. details you won’t find in Wu Former Deputy Governor of Shandong Under Wu’s watch, a punitive system for officials was imple- Guanzheng Province; former member of the Chi- mented that led to widespread torture, according to a Pulitzer their biographies nese Communist Party Politburo Prize winning article. Eighteen months later, 24 practitioners were dead, with many more thought to have been killed. After over a decade of persecution, many of the Xia Deren Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province; Using his control of local state-run media, Xia fueled the persecu- officials who run China’s provinces and cities former Mayor of Dalian tion campaign, making Liaoning one of the deadliest provinces have had a hand in suppressing Falun Gong, for Falun Gong. In 2004, a U.S. federal court found Xia liable for including encouraging torture. The following overseeing the torture of practitioners. four men are just the tip of the iceberg. 6 health

Kicking the Habit (Without Raising a Foot)

Positively Well Though his job as an M.D. was to tell people how to live healthy and make good How millions are finding abundant health through Falun Gong health decisions, John Yang just couldn’t quite practice what he preached. or Carrie Dobson, simply explains. “Pretty much everyone “I was a chain smoker,” climbing out of bed was a knew somebody who had tried it Yang recalls. “I smoked a struggle. Much less getting Healthy in Beijing and benefitted, physically or psy- pack or two of cigarettes a Fdressed, or making it through the chologically.” day—Chinese cigarettes. No matter how hard I tried, I day. Half her body had lost sensa- It isn’t exactly a city synonymous with good health, being the world’s People reported everything just couldn’t quit.” tion. 10th most polluted metropolis. But scores of Beijing residents have from better sleep and less stress All that changed over- The Pennsylvanian’s life was found better health through Falun Gong, as reflected in a 1998 survey to increased energy, better moods, night, however, after taking being defined by a condition she of some 12,731 adherents in the city. better digestion, and even recov- up Falun Gong. had never asked for, or even heard ery from chronic diseases. Falun “Suddenly cigarettes just of: Lyme disease. For 10 years the Two charts provide a glimpse of the remarkable findings. Gong’s primary text, Zhuan Falun, tasted awful,” Yang says. “A few days after learning rare, fibromyalgia-like disease appeared on China’s best seller Health Improvement Stress Reduction Falun Gong, out of habit I had grown progressively worse, to lists. tried to smoke, and immedi- the point of being crippling. Word traveled fast and far, and ately I felt like throwing up.” “I would have paid anything, or by 1999 the number of Chinese And that was it. Yang traveled anywhere, to get well. I citizens practicing Falun Gong hasn’t picked up a cigarette since, in fourteen years. was desperate,” she recalls. Complete Complete had reached 100 million—eclips- “Something changed But as fate would have it, Dob- 58.5% Significant 56.6% Significant ing even the Communist Party’s when I learned Falun Gong. son’s solution was right in her own 24.9% 27% membership. My body didn’t want to backyard—or park, as it turned smoke anymore, and I out. And it didn’t cost a cent. Partial Partial Deeper Health managed to quit just like 15.7% 12.8% that—without even trying, At the recommendation of a Chi- But how could a simple program you could say.” nese friend, Dobson discovered a of exercise, meditation, and None .9% None 3.6% traditional Chinese spiritual prac- principled living make for such tice, called Falun Gong. In a matter an impact? What made Falun of weeks, Dobson had her life back. Gong different? What made it tive exercises. Many say it is the “Falun Gong was what did it,” parallels that of thousands—even close, practicing it in the park at “work”? teachings, in fact, that form the says the 56-year old flight instruc- millions—of other Falun Gong his university. In the words of practitioners, Falun core of the practice and that dif- tor, looking a decade younger than adherents around the world, par- “If something works, they’ll Gong works on multiple levels, going ferentiate Falun Gong. her years. “It’s all about improving ticularly in China. Her case is any- hear about it and give it a try. If deeper, as it were, than typical exer- It’s the blend of virtuous living, one’s mind and body,” she says. thing but isolated. it doesn’t work, they’ll drop it,” cise programs or health protocols. of aligning one’s life with higher “The teachings guide you in Dobson’s recovery provides a Zhao says. “They’ve learned a lot In a word, it ain’t “Yoga Buns.” principles, and powerful exercises truthfulness, compassion, and tol- fascinating window into the of harsh lessons under commu- “It works on an energetic level,” that proves such a winning com- erance. The exercises bring in the health benefits of Falun Gong nism, about blind faith in leaders, says Dr. Jingduan Yang, a medical bination. health benefits.” as well as the explosive growth or ideologies. It’s made them more doctor of both Chinese and West- “It’s more than being free of ill- Today, some twelve years later, of the practice in 1990s China— practical, more discerning.” ern medicine who has studied ness. It’s about being well—really Dobson remains cured of Lyme where millions of residents Falun Gong “worked,” by that Falun Gong. (See sidebar, “Kicking well,” says Ryan Smith, an educa- disease, healthier—and happier— made Falun Gong part of their account. the Habit”) tor from New Jersey. than ever. daily routine. By the mid-90s, in most every “It’s not just about your flesh “I can’t tell you how amazing park across China, Falun Gong and blood. It works on the body it is not to live in fear of all the Parks Abuzz But why Falun Gong? practitioners could be found per- on a different level, it gets at the things that can go wrong with What’s perhaps most remarkable “Chinese people are by nature forming their trademark blend of deeper roots of illness by working you, trying to prevent this, pre- about Dobson’s story isn’t simply practical,” says Zhao Ming, a gentle, rhythmic qigong exercises on the mind and the body.” vent that,” he says. it’s unlikelihood (Lyme disease is native of Beijing, who now lives and meditation. Indeed, a central component of “With Falun Gong, you’re taking widely considered uncurable). in New York and who witnessed “People found that Falun Gong Falun Gong is its moral teachings, such good care of yourself, every- Most incredible is that her story Falun Gong’s growth in China up worked, and worked well,” Zhao which complement the medita- thing’s covered.”

Learn More To learn more about Falun Gong, visit the following sites:

FalunDafa.org TiantiBooks.org en.Minghui.org

A MORNING STRETCH: Resi- dents of Sichuan province perform the first exercise of Falun Gong. Millions in China discovered the powerful health benefits of the practice in the 1990s. practice 7

The Five Exercises

1 Buddha Displaying a Thousand Hands Using gentle stretching movements, the exercise opens all of the body’s energy channels, creating a powerful energy field.

ENJOYING SERENITY: New Yorkers perform the meditation of Falun Gong in a city park. A central component of the practice is self-improvement, or “cultivation,” making it truly a practice of mind and body. 2 Falun Standing Stance Comprised of four still positions that can be held for several minutes each, the second exercise boosts energy levels Cultivating Yourself and awakens wisdom. A portrait of the practice and history of Falun Gong reveals much not commonly seen in the headlines

alun Gong is an ancient Chi- verse, and takes them to be a guide While Falun Gong aspires to the 1990s, prior to a dramatic and nese spiritual discipline in for daily life and practice. inner transformation of the self, it violent change in political winds the Buddhist tradition. It con- In the words of Falun Gong’s nevertheless typically translates in 1999 which saw the practice Fsists of moral teachings, a medi- teacher, Mr. Li Hongzhi, “assimila- outwardly into positive change persecuted. tation, and four gentle exercises tion to the highest qualities of the in the world, insofar as the prac- In 1993, Mr. Li was named the that are a truly unique and highly universe—Zhen 真 Shan 善 Ren 忍 titioner becomes a more patient “Most Welcomed Qigong Master” enjoyable way to improve your —is the foundation of prac- family member, a more conscien- in Beijing and bestowed by an 3 health and energy levels. tice. Practice is guided by these tious employee, or a more active official body with the Award for Penetrating the Two Extremes At the core of Falun Gong are the supreme qualities, and based on member of society. Advancing Frontier Science. With its gentle hand-gliding move- values of Truthfulness, Compas- the very laws which underlie the Falun Gong has thus been the The same year, The People’s ments, this exercise purifies the body sion, and Tolerance (or in Chinese, development of the cosmos.” subject of many citations, awards, Public Security News—the official using energy from the cosmos. Zhen 真 Shan 善 Ren 忍). Falun Dafa Falun Gong is also commonly and proclamations, conferred by newspaper of China’s Ministry of teaches that these are the most known as “Falun Dafa.” government officials and a vari- Public Security—praised Mr. Li for fundamental qualities of the uni- By 1999 Falun Gong had grown ety of organizations. Many who his contributions “in promoting to become the largest and fastest practice Falun Gong have been the traditional crime-fighting vir- growing practice of the sort in the recipients of service awards tues of the Chinese people, in safe- Family Matters Chinese if not world history. In just in their communities and at their guarding social order and security, seven years since its 1992 introduc- workplaces. and in promoting rectitude in To hear Kate describe how her mother, Susan, once was, tion to the public, an estimated The practice’s founder, Mr. Li society.” you’d think she had horns. 100 million people in China were Hongzhi, is a five-time Nobel Peace By 1999, Chinese officials went “Judgmental. Unaccept- by then learning or practicing Prize nominee and was nomi- so far as to quantify Falun Gong’s ing. Never satisfied. Self- Falun Gong. nated by the European Parliament benefits, such as when one official absorbed.” Not the stuff good In Asia spiritual practices of for the Sakharov Prize For Freedom from China’s National Sports Com- 4 mother-daughter relationships Falun Cosmic Circuit are forged of. this variety are often referred to of Thought. He is the recipient of mission, speaking with U.S. News as ways of “cultivation,” or “self- Freedom House’s International & World Report, declared that By gently tracing the hands over the Yet today, both cherish their body, front and back, the fourth exer- friendship—no longer merely cultivation,” and form an integral Religious Freedom Award. Falun Dafa “can save each person a “relationship”—and look cise rectifies abnormal conditions in the part of classical Chinese culture. Eschewing the spotlight, Mr. Li 1,000 yuan in annual medical fees. body and circulates energy. back at the Susan of the past Various Daoist, Buddhist, and Con- guides the practice through his If 100 million people are practicing as a whole ‘nother creature. “Falun Gong completely fucian practices fit this rubric. writings and occasional speeches, it, that’s 100 billion yuan saved per changed our relationship, our Through consistent and dedi- typically at Falun Gong confer- year in medical fees.” family,” the 61-year old mother cated practice, the student of Falun ences. The same official went on to note says, looking back. “It enabled Gong comes to achieve a state of Mr. Li has always insisted that that, “Premier is very me to finally think about oth- selflessness, greater insight and the practice be taught for free and happy about that.” ers first, to put myself in their shoes. I can now put others awareness, inner purity, and bal- available to all, and as such, all Today Falun Gong is practiced before myself.” ance—the deeper workings of Falun Gong books, video record- in more than 70 countries around By distilling a range of clas- what might be called true health. ings, and the like are available for the world, with clubs and associa- 5 sical Chinese sensibilities, val- Ultimately he or she approaches a free viewing online. tions existing in a range of cities, Strengthening Higher Abilities ues, and ideals, Falun Gong state of spiritual attainment that Few people today are aware companies, universities, and other A meditation that incorporates special brings the best qualities of Chinese tradition to bear on in the Asian tradition is known as that Falun Gong and its followers settings. mudra and hand positions to refine body lives in the present. “enlightenment” or “attaining the received much in the way of offi- There might very well be one and mind, it strengthens higher abilities Dao (Way).” cial recognition in China during coming soon to a park near you. and energy. 8 8 analysis Think You Know About Falun Gong? Think Again …

Four critical elements of the Falun Gong story reveal just how far China’s Communist Party will go to crush its perceived enemies

Before picking up this newspaper, you group. most likely knew Falun Gong as a group Whether you’re new to the Falun Gong of meditators that are being imprisoned story or a veteran China watcher, one and tortured in China. That’s true, of aspect or another of these four develop- course. But without understanding four ments has likely already touched your critical points, it’s difficult to fathom the life or will at some point. We offer these lengths of deceit, manipulation, and details to help you navigate the complex violence that Party officials have gone and confusing world of Communist to in their efforts to crush this peaceful Party propaganda and cover-ups.

Self-immolation Hoax on Tiananmen Square 1On January 23, 2001, five people • An award-winning documen- But why would the CCP stage such allegedly set themselves on fire tary showed, via slow-motion an elaborate hoax? in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. footage, that one of the immola- With 100 million believers, Falun Within hours, state-run media tors collapsed after being hit over Gong was by 1999 a respected were claiming that the self-immo- the head, in fact, by a policeman. household name, making many lators were Falun Gong practitio- Chinese hesitant to wholeheart- ners. • In the state-run media reports, edly support the Party’s persecu- For days, media aired grisly foot- a policeman stands next to an tion of these people. age of the victims and blamed immolator, as if waiting for him to By staging the “self-immolation” Falun Gong teachings for the trag- finish speaking. He then casually and repeatedly airing the footage edy. The problem is that a wealth of places a blanket over him to extin- on state-run television, the Party evidence suggests that the entire guish a non-existent flame, giving led many Chinese who had sym- incident was staged—a sophisti- the scene an extremely staged feel. pathized with Falun Gong to now cated propaganda stunt contrived believe practitioners were crazy or to demonize Falun Gong. • Falun Gong’s teachings explic- even dangerous. itly prohibit killing—including This in effect made it easier for What were some of the question- suicide—making it unlikely the the Party to abduct practitioners, able points? immolators were actual practitio- take them for brainwashing, and ners. Quotes said by the immola- torture them. • A Washington Post investigation tors in state-run TV coverage were WAITING FOR A CUE: In a poorly acted scene, a policeman stands wait- found that two of the self-immola- not, in fact, attributable to Falun Want to see for yourself? ing beside a supposed self-immolating Falun Gong practitioner. This is just tors had never practiced Falun Gong. Gong teachings. Visit www.falsefire.com one of dozens of suspicious points in this horrific scam.

Peaceful Appeal Falsely Blamed for Persecution It was April 25, 1999. Some The Chinese premier came out that it was, but rather as Falun 210–20,000 Chinese gathered early to meet with Falun Gong rep- Gong “laying siege” to the cen- in the morning in Beijing, young resentatives. That evening, the tral government compound. This and old. All were practitioners of group’s concerns were met and account was used to portray Falun Falun Gong. everyone went home. Gong as a provocative political They had come to China’s central The problem was, then-Party group, and to justify the horrific appeals office to ask the govern- head Jiang Zemin had other plans. persecution just unleashed. ment to stop its escalating harass- He soon ordered the establish- This “blame-the-victim” fram- ment and intimidation of prac- ment of the 6-10 Office (named for ing of the persecution has spread titioners—including the beating its June 10th creation)—a special beyond China’s borders, and and arrest of over 40 in the nearby Party police force tasked with informs some reporting on Falun city of Tianjin the day before—and overseeing the effort to wipe out Gong. But in truth, the behind- to allow them freedom to practice Falun Gong. The following month, the-scenes repression of Falun openly without threat. the massive persecution cam- Gong had already been underway Those assembled stood in an paign was launched. since 1996, and the large-scale orderly line. Some meditated, oth- When the state-run media’s persecution campaign was soon LINING UP FOR JUSTICE: Falun Gong practitioners stand quietly in Bei- ers chatted quietly. propaganda apparatus went into to be launched either way. The jing on April 25, 1999. This historic, peaceful appeal against escalating It was the largest and most full swing, the April 25th gather- April 25 appeal became a conve- harassment was later re-characterized by state media as a “siege” in an peaceful protest in Beijing in ing was quickly re-cast. It was not nient scapegoat. It was certainly attempt to justify the party’s campaign of repression. years. depicted as the peaceful appeal not the cause. analysis 9

Fabrications Allege Falun Gong is Responsible for 1,400 Deaths 3Throughout the 1990s, millions To achieve this, the Party suddenly in the 70-plus countries where took up Falun Gong as news of its began claiming that Falun Gong Falun Gong is practiced freely. dramatic health benefits spread had “led to more than 1,400 deaths” More importantly, those who by word-of-mouth (see page 6, of followers. State-run media pub- did investigate individual cases “Positively Well”). Government licized everywhere alleged cases of found them to have been fabri- entities, including state media such deaths, using highly graphic, cated. One telling example was the and the National Sports Commis- emotional imagery. The main claim case of Ms. Zhang Zhiwen, from sion, helped the practice’s expan- was that Falun Gong prohibits prac- Shanxi province. In November sion by touting Falun Gong’s titioners from taking medicine and 1999, a local media outlet reported positive impact on health and the thereby led to unnecessary deaths. that Ms. Zhang had burned her ensuing savings on medical care. Besides the suspiciously timed six-month-old daughter and then So, when the Party launched its reversal of the government’s committed suicide in protest of campaign against Falun Gong in attitude, these claims are under- the Party’s crackdown on Falun 1999, it had a lot of explaining to mined by the fact the Party never Gong. The report was reprinted do. It was faced with justifying an furnished proper evidence to sup- across the country. A few months effort to stop people from doing port them. It also blocked outside, later, an investigation into the case something healthy and from which third-party attempts to investi- revealed that the story was a com- LIES ON DISPLAY: A man views an anti-Falun Gong exhibition hosted by so many had benefited. It also had gate. Meanwhile, no such “deaths” plete fabrication. In fact, Ms. Zhang the Communist Party, replete with stories of alleged harm the practice to offset its own endorsements. have ever occurred outside China had never existed. had done. The problem: investigations reveal these are all fabrications.

Forcible Organ Harvesting From Falun Gong Prisoners of Conscience

Mounting evidence tells a terrible be shopping for a kidney or a liver. Gong detainees—testing that ance carriers stopped sending to China and other countries: 4tale of murder and mutilation in To their horror, one doctor after suspiciously ignored injuries but patients to China for transplants. “Have you ever been directly China. Reports from witnesses another openly confirmed: We’ve checked the health of vital organs. And in June 2011, a United States involved in the coercive trans- and Chinese physicians reveal got Falun Gong in stock; just come Then, when a patient needed an immigration form (DS-160) added plantation of human organs or that thousands of Falun Gong in and we can get you the organ organ, a suitable detainee would the following question, applicable bodily tissue?” practitioners have been killed for within a week. be matched, killed, and his or her their organs, which are sold and organ taken and used for a trans- transplanted at enormous profit. plant operation. Admissions of Organ Harvesting from Chinese Doctors The perpetrators are officials In fact, one Chinese website of the Chinese Communist Party “[This is] a form had boasted that it could provide Perhaps no evidence of the March 16, 2006: Shanghai Jiao- (CCP), acting in collaboration with matching organs in 1-4 weeks, a killings described herein is tong University Hospital’s Liver surgeons, prison authorities, and of evil that we time frame medical experts say greater than the admissions Transplant Center military officials. is impossible unless the Chinese of physicians in China’s own have yet to see hospitals. The following are Caller: I want to know how long Victims are held in concentra- hospitals had access to a huge transcripts from conversa- [patients] have to wait [for a liver tion camps prior to having their stock of living organ “donors.” tions recorded by undercover transplant]. organs harvested, after which the on this planet.” Since the accusations of organ researchers. bodies are immediately cremated. harvesting first emerged, CCP offi- Dr. Dai: The supply of organs we The story, almost too dread- , cials have attempted to destroy June 8, 2006: Mishan City Deten- have, we have every day. We do tion Center, Heilongjiang prov- them every day. ful to believe, was first revealed Canadian evidence, while denying the ince in March 2006 when a woman allegations. They have also stone- C: We want fresh, live ones. claimed that Falun Gong practi- investigator walled investigations even after Caller: Do you have Falun Gong tioners had been killed for their the United Nations Committee [organ] suppliers? ... Dr. Dai: They are all live, all organs at the hospital where she against Torture asked for a thor- live… Mr. Li: We used to have, yes. had worked. She also said that her Shocked by these reports, two ough accounting of the source of C: How many [liver transplants] husband, a surgeon at the same prominent Canadian lawyers organs. At present, it is unclear C: … what about now? have you done? hospital outside the northeastern launched their own investiga- whether the practice continues. city of , had disclosed to tion. In July 2006, former Secre- As David Matas, one of the Mr. Li: … Yes. …… Dr. Dai: We’ve done 400 to 500 … her that he had removed cornea tary of State for Asia Pacific David Canadian investigators, stated, Your main job is to come, and C: What about the price? have the money ready. from the living bodies of 2,000 Kilgour and human rights lawyer the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. David Matas published a 140-page living prisoners of conscience is Mr. Li: We’ll discuss after you C: How much is it? One week later, a Chinese mili- report. It drew “the regrettable a “a form of evil that we have yet come. …… tary doctor not only corroborated conclusion that the allegations to see on this planet.” It brings Dr. Dai: If everything goes the woman’s account but also are true.” the atrocities committed by the C: How many [Falun Gong sup- smoothly, it’s about RMB pliers] under age 40 do you 150,000… RMB 200,000. claimed that such atrocities were American freelance journalist regime in China to new heights. have? taking place in 36 different con- soon followed Moreover, given how much C: How long do I have to wait? centration camps throughout the suit with his own inquiry. Both international interaction China’s Mr. Li: Quite a few. …… country. He said he had also wit- investigations concluded that transplant industry has—from Dr. Dai: I need to check your nessed Falun Gong practitioners somewhere in the range of 40,000 doctors’ trainings to accepting C: Are they male or female? blood type… If you come today, I may be able to do it for you being massively transported in to 65,000 Falun Gong practitio- foreign patients to collaborative Mr. Li: Male …… within one week. cattle trains, at night and under ners had been killed in this way research—the impact of these the cover of tight security. from 2000-2006. abuses is not limited to China. C: Now … the male Falun Gong C: I heard that some [organs] come Falun Gong supporters and So, how does the organ harvest- For this reason, various govern- [prisoners], how many of them from those who practice Falun human rights activists overseas ing work? Sometime around 2000, ments and international agencies do you have? Gong, those who are very healthy. immediately began investigating prison officials and medical doc- have taken action upon learning Mr. Li: Seven, eight, we have [at Dr. Dai: Yes, we have those. But I the allegations. They placed calls tors started colluding to give sys- of the allegations and evidence. least] five, six now. can’t talk openly over the phone. to Chinese hospitals pretending to tematic medical testing to Falun In early 2007, Israeli health insur- 10 10 culture Culture Bearers By rekindling values of China’s past, Falun Gong offers new possibilities for being ‘Chinese’ in the 21st century

sk the typical American spiritual insight. lifestyle, as seen in Falun Gong’s what he or she associates In a word, Falun Gong is thor- dramatic growth. with “Chinese culture,” oughly Chinese. In achieving this, Falun Gong Aand you’re apt to get a range of has refashioned the possibility of replies. Resonance what it means to be “Chinese” in Kung-fu panda. Tea. This is not to say that Falun Gong the new millenia, offering a way Calligraphy. The Great Wall. is in any way anachronistic in of being at once forward looking Confucius. Mulan. a modern China, however. It’s and yet grounded in the strength Yet what’s absent from most instead a great fit. of a cultural past. everyone’s list is arguably the Unabashed consumerism in Falun Gong has, in brief, most dramatic and important China has long-since replaced renewed a culture—bringing to embodiment of Chinese culture Confucian ideals of rugged sim- life what communism sought to existing today: Falun Gong. plicity. For most, hopes of lucrative perish. Few in the West have heard of careers have more pull than lofty It is a fantastic opportunity, and the spiritual discipline or have notions of enlightenment. one not to be missed. much sense for how it is practiced. Yet Falun Gong proved astound- Fewer still are aware of the fas- ingly popular with its modern Chi- cinating glimpse into the world nese audience, as witnessed by its of classical China that Falun Gong explosive growth in 1990s China: provides, nor of the tragic tale it in just seven years it grew to tells of cultural flux—or chaos— have 100 million practitioners. in contemporary China. Something about Falun Gong Yet in the growing popularity of resonated with people every- Falun Gong lies nothing less than where, of every sort. A typical the hope of cultural renewal—of assemblage of morning park- The Choice a new way of being “Chinese” in goers (Falun Gong is often prac- the 21st century that is at once ticed outdoors, in the fresh air) in My friend, rooted in classical tradition yet China would have featured every- fully progressive. one from students and professors What I talk about is your to custodial workers, laboratory Reaching back scientists, and the elderly. long-cherished hope While Falun Gong didn’t become It not only spoke to people, known to the Chinese public until but inspired. People gath- The truth can open up 1992, its pedigree reaches back far ered in the parks and at people’s true thoughts beyond its years. homes of their own ini- The most recognizable feature tiative, freely, coming of Falun Gong—its trademark together in spontaneous When your memory long exercises—hark back to the earli- community. buried by dust is uncovered est centuries of recorded Chinese And not just in China, but history. throughout the world and across Its meditative exercises would the Chinese diaspora. Your eons-old vow will be readily familiar—in form, lead you to fulfillment if not in detail—to denizens of Renewal Bronze-age China. Falun Gong struck a chord deep Don’t be deceived by the lies Since at least the days of Con- in the Chinese soul. It was some- fucius and the Zhou dynasty, the thing authentically Chinese. And of the persecution pages of Chinese lore have told Chinese, at a time when not much of highly accomplished spiritual else in China was. Knowing the truth is the beings whose bodies, owing to Particularly, Communist Party key to your life decades of meditative discipline, doctrine. had been metamorphized into Falun Gong has provided an immortal material. alternative mode of being Chi- I hope that all lives can Falun Gong’s core teachings on nese. A way of being grounded in walk out of the catastrophe Truthfulness, Compassion, and the noblest values of antiquity— Tolerance, meanwhile, are echoed such as truthfulness, compassion, Amidst good and evil, the divine throughout the writings of Chi- and tolerance—and buttressed by na’s sages and literati from the centuries of accumulated wisdom ones are fulfilling their promise earliest centuries. and practice. Its “self-cultivation” program is It’s program of physical exer- cut from the same cloth as early cises, meanwhile, provides the Li Hongzhi Chinese Daoist and Buddhist modern citizen a powerful tool Teacher of Falun Gong philosophy, while its orientation for coping with the stresses and April 30, 2006 is similarly otherworldly—aspir- deprivations of a toxic world. ing to a kind of harmony with the But most importantly, it has cosmos that can only be achieved made these values and this path through virtuous living, physical compelling—in no way clash- transformation, and deepening ing with a modern sensibility or 11 culture 11 A Deeper Connection For many in the West, Falun Gong is serving as a window into a bygone culture

Like many people in America, “I realized that Chinese culture Michael felt a connection with “I realized that isn’t just pagodas, Buddha statues, Chinese culture. Chinese culture and chopsticks,” he recalls. Meditation. Tea. Erhu music. All “It’s much more of a profound of it resonated. isn’t just pagodas, weaving together of philosophies, So much so, that the native of decorum, and ways of treating upstate New York took up Chinese, Buddha statues, each other.” and did advanced college course- and chopsticks.” Living Falun Gong benefited work in Chinese history and lit- Lance in at least one very unex- erature. He even traveled to China pected way. upon graduation. ing my life in tangible ways, like His in-laws, who are Taiwanese, But it was only after studying when people started noting how originally were opposed to his Falun Gong that the Ivy League calm I now was.” marrying their daughter. Lance grad felt he could “really appreci- Many Chinese people were was “too American” they were ate” Chinese culture. struck at how much he had con- convinced. “I started to know the culture on nected with their culture and its All of that changed, however, a completely different level,” he deeper facets. when the parents saw a photo of says. “It opened up all sorts of doors him doing Falun Gong’s medita- “Falun Gong allowed me to see and conversations,” he shares. tion. They immediately respected that there’s this profound spiritual Lance, a project manager from him. dimension to the culture, be it in Colorado, found that Falun Gong “Their attitude completely the concept of ‘virtue’ (德), how “ennobled” Chinese culture for changed, just like that,” Lance a landscape painting is done, or him. For most of his life, Chinese remembers. An American student of Falun Gong performs the practice’s meditation, how you fold your hands when culture somewhat kitch. Six months later, they were hap- tapping into a many centuries old Chinese tradition. you meditate. And it was impact- That changed with Falun Gong. pily married.

Comrade Confucius?

of simplicity and frugality, of China. not mediated or managed by the It was everything Party doctrine While the delighting in the ritualized work- It was a terrible match. Party, how does it feel? was not. ings of hierarchical relationships, Values that had prevailed for Threatened. Falun Gong’s teachings on truth- Party rushes to of reverence for “heaven.” centuries such as propriety, har- Witness the Party’s bizarre fulness, compassion, and tolerance Gone too are criticisms of mony, kindness, and respect for efforts to stifle the classical bettered Chinese society, inspiring exploit Chinese oppressive rule. It was Confucius, elders were turned on their heads. Chinese dance company, acts of altruism, kindness, and culture, the fact after all, who declared to his “Struggle” became the new lingua Performing Arts. The company humanity. disciples, “Tyranny is worse than a franca, and violence its hallmark. tries to revive classical Chinese Party doctrine and its ideology remains: it ain’t man-eating tiger.” culture, while the Party tries to of “struggle,” on the other hand, Call it Confucius Lite. pressure theaters around the globe spurred corruption, intolerance, very Chinese The sage is at once everywhere, into canceling its shows. and acts of horrible violence. but nowhere. Confucius Or consider the contrast with Confucius would not be pleased. Communist ideologues have Taiwan—a country with Chinese Confucius is everywhere these selectively exorcised the prickly would not cultural heritage that is not ruled days. parts of Confucian doctrine in by the Communist Party. Masses of dancers dressed as the favor of an avuncular parody that There, Shen Yun meets with sage paraded about at the opening has something for everyone, while be pleased. no such suppression and ceremony of the Beijing Olympics threatening no one. has instead received official in a show of unison. The change is more than just an accolades. His statue was erected on update, however. It is an appro- Under Mao, assaults on the All of this sheds a new Tiananmen Square last year, priation for political purposes. culture were startlingly overt. light, then, on the Party’s opposite a major government It also bespeaks of a larger, more Citizens were exhorted to “smash adversity to Falun Gong. building. unsettling question: can tradi- the old world” of traditional China. In Falun Gong, Party rulers Institutes bearing his name, tional Chinese culture cohabit Buddhist temples were bulldozed, saw their inverse: a body of funded by the Chinese state, are with a China ruled by the Com- statues of Confucius attacked ideas and practices forged popping up at colleges around the munist Party? Or more specifically, with sledgehammers. Classical in Chinese antiquity, yet world. will the Party allow it? novels were burned in orgies of resonant with hearts It would seem to be good times In seeking an answer, there’s “revolutionary” zeal. and minds today. for the philosopher-turned- one thing to keep in mind: China’s While the hammers aren’t cultural-ambassador. He has ruling party isn’t very Chinese. seen anymore nowadays, the seemingly found the political And it knows it. discomfort with Chinese culture is audience he longed for, yet never China’s communist ideology still there. won, in his own times. was forged in Soviet Russia, and Much of what today’s rulers But peek under the hood, and born out of the crucible of Marxist- espouse is diametrically opposed something’s awry. Things are Leninist thought—in Europe. In to the values, beliefs, and ideals of missing. Vast swathes of Confu- the early 20th century, its atheist millenia of Chinese culture. cius’s philosophy are absent. His doctrines and violent inclinations Tellingly, when authentic voice, altered. were imported to, and imposed expressions of Chinese culture Gone are exhortations to a life upon, the age-old civilization of do emerge of their own accord, 12 community

A colorful “dragon dance” was part of this 2010 World Falun Dafa Day celebration, at Union Square in New York A member of the Falun Gong-comprised Divine Land Marching Band relaxes City. The annual event attracts thousands of spectators. after a parade. The band has won scores of accolades for its performances. Faces of Falun Gong Though Falun Gong began in China, in the 20 years since its introduction to the public it has grown to be an international phenomenon. From the parks of Paris to community centers in Brooklyn, Falun Gong can be seen everywhere. Its practitioners are inspired by a central tenet of the practice—compassion—to give back to the community and help others. A vast number of proclamations, awards, and official recognitions tell of Falun Gong’s benefits to society and the lives of individuals. The images assembled here provide a mosaic of the many The Goddess of Justice appeared in Athens, Greece, at a 2007 “Human Rights Torch” event calling for justice in China. ways Falun Gong practitioners live and share their practice.

“This group is bringing the entire parade to a much higher level.” Parade viewer

Dressed in white—the Chinese color of mourning—participants in this procession commemorate the wrongful deaths of practitioners in China. community 13

A young child joins her parents in meditative pose at a Falun Gong event.

More than 10,000 gathered to march at this 2011 rally, meant to encourage Chinese citizens to see through the Chinese Communist Party’s lies and distance themselves from its oppressive regime.

Falun Gong has received hundreds of awards, proclamations, and other official recognitions (as pictured here) for its contributions to society and the lives of its practitioners.

Falun Gong has received hundreds of awards and recognitions for its contributions to society.

A gentleman is moved by the paintings of Falun Gong artists, which pow- With thundering drums and colorful costumes, traditional Chinese culture is brought to life in festive form, as in erfully depict courage, faith, and hope as well as injustices in China. this parade in Taipei, Taiwan. Falun Gong practitioners are rekindling China’s classical culture. 14 persecution A Systematic Suppression of 100 Million People How Falun Gong practitioners became China’s—if not the world’s—largest group of prisoners of conscience

t began in the middle of the and perpetrators of the Rwandan in airing an endless barrage of night, July 20, 1999. Across genocide, has called the campaign a vilifying coverage, the residual China under the veil of dark- “horrific form of genocide.” effects of those reports remain Iness, police dragged hundreds of The following are prominent instilled in many a Chinese mind. ordinary people from their beds. features of the suppression. Many would be taken to holding Information control centers and jails, others beaten, Propaganda China’s regime has gone further and some would die from tor- & hate campaigns than just controlling media por- ture. Many millions of dollars have trayals of Falun Gong. All books, What had they done? Nothing been put into saturating China’s audiotapes, videos, flyers, and more than to practice Falun Gong, TV news, airwaves, and press items that cast Falun Gong in a a traditional form of Chinese with defamatory propaganda. positive light are banned. exercise and meditation that had The intention is twofold: to distort Non-propaganda websites so grown immensely popular. and demonize Falun Gong so as much as mentioning Falun Gong Police were acting on directives to turn the public against it; and are blocked. Posts to Chinese from the top, from Communist to mask the Communist Party’s microblogging sites are system- Party head Jiang Zemin, who human rights abuses by depict- atically deleted. People known to ordered the group crushed. By ing the suppression as humane, practice Falun Gong have their most accounts, Jiang was resent- beneficent, and necessary for phones tapped, their email moni- ful of the popular practice—its “social order.” tored. believers numbering 100 mil- Those voicing disagreement lion—and wished to make a show with the Party’s anti-Falun Gong of power. China’s regime has campaign meet with a harsh Two days later, on July 22, Falun ‘systematically response—some have been sent Gong was banned across the land, to prison for over 10 years just for marking the official beginning of attempted to visiting banned Falun Gong web- a violent campaign in China that eradicate the sites and printing their contents. SILENCED: Illegal arrests, censorship, and violence against women are has continued for more than a just three of the many tactics employed by Chinese authorities. decade and cast tens of millions practice and those Bending the law of apolitical citizens as enemies of who follow it... The legal system offers little pro- Coercion and and even raped by guards. Several the state. tection. Questionable laws were brainwashing women have had their pregnancies Jiang declared that “no means through organized created to retroactively punish The “re-education” part of the violently terminated by authorities are too excessive” in the drive to Falun Gong practitioners. Com- experience refers to the effort to who sought to imprison them longer. “eradicate Falun Gong.” To date, brain-washing, munist Party committees manip- force “renunciations” of Falun over 3,500 deaths have been docu- torture, and murder.’ ulate judges to send practitioners Gong. But the victims are not Living on the edge mented, most owing to torture in to prison after sham trials. limited to just those taken to the There is much more, untold, that police custody. Hundreds of thou- United States Congress Most of the time, the authori- camps. All practitioners are tar- we do not know. Sizable evidence sands more languish in China’s ties don’t even bother to put up geted with brainwashing meant of forcible organ harvesting prisons and labor camps, unlaw- The extent is hard for those in a façade of legality. Police abduct to destroy a person’s very identity from Falun Gong prisoners has fully held captive. Physical abuse, the West to imagine. Schoolchil- practitioners from their homes— and reprogram his or her mind. emerged (see “Organ Harvesting,” rape, and forced labor are routine. dren are forced to study hateful 8,000 were detained in just the Those who refuse to part with page 9), but the full scale of the Permeating every facet of society, fabrications in textbooks; college run-up to the Beijing Olympics. their beliefs are threatened with crimes is yet to be known. the persecution is marked by its entrance exams contain ques- Many of them were sent to forced the loss of their jobs, pensions, Meanwhile, tens of millions of scope and vigor. tions criticizing Falun Gong; work- labor camps by bureaucratic fiat. homes—and freedom. lives suffer damage not likely soon Georges-Henri Beauthier, a human places hold mandatory “study ses- In 2010, the Party reinvigorated to be mended. Many hang in a rights attorney who prosecuted sions.” And while state-run media Labor “re-education” these efforts, launching a three- delicate balance, one knock at the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet are not as active as a decade ago camps year campaign that has seen door away from illegal incarcera- These “re-education” camps— thousands across the country tion; one day away from another China’s answer to the Soviet taken to special brainwashing violent interrogation; one blow or Key Numbers of the Persecution gulag—are the main holding classes, often held at hotels, retire- electric shock away from death. • 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong when the persecu- grounds for Falun Gong practitio- ment homes, and even Buddhist Though the political dynamics in tion began in 1999. ners. In some cases, a single camp Temples. Once in custody, they China are chaotic and changing, • Millions of Chinese people have since been abducted, imprisoned, will hold hundreds. are tortured and deprived of sleep the campaign against Falun Gong tortured, fired from jobs, expelled from school or forced into Under inhumane conditions, until they relent. continues to this day. homeless because they practice Falun Gong. victims are forced to do heavy Yet amidst so much darkness, • 450,000—1,000,000 Falun Gong practitioners are illegally held in labor for upwards of 18 hours a Violence against women hope remains. It is nestled in the labor camps, prisons, and detention centers at any given time—the day. Those who collapse, fail to One of the most disturbing aspects hearts of a determined people. largest group of prisoners of conscience in China, if not the world. meet quotas, or don’t comply of the campaign is the how often Strengthened by their beliefs, • Over 80,000 cases of torture have been recorded. are typically beaten, tortured, or female practitioners are sexually they continue to endure, to resist, • Thousands have been killed. starved. Hundreds have died in abused—including being shocked and to call for our help. these camps. with electric batons on their breasts Let us answer.

Victims Young and Old

42-year-old Yu Zhou was a Sun Min, 39, was abducted by Mr. Xie Deqing, 69, was popular folk musician from police from her home afer her detained on April 29, 2009 and Beijing. On January 26, 2008, husband had been detained held at the Xinjin Brainwash- he and his wife were detained for distributing DVDs exposing ing Center, suffering physical by police on their way home human rights abuses against abuse. He emerged 20 days because they had Falun Gong Falun Gong practitioners. The later, emaciated and incon- materials in their bag. Within couple was interrogated and tinent. He remained largely eleven days of his arrest, Yu within hours, Ms. Sun was unconscious, waking briefly to Zhou was tortured to death. dead. Sources in China say her complain of pains and being His wife, Xu Na, was sen- body had marks from electric injected with unknown drugs tenced to three years in prison. batons and blows from a while detained. He died four heavy object. days later. resistance 15 For Whom? Our informational fliers, events, sciences, only to regret it later. and activism are meant to end Each of us is also inevitably a tragedy in China. But they are responding to the events in also meant for you, here in the China—be it with sympathy, free world. action, or indifference. As described below, we are We share this paper to help you all victims. Each of us is poten- navigate these dilemmas. Just in tially impacted by the perse- your taking the time to read it cution. We might be asked in and to care about Falun Gong, some way to betray our con- you are making a difference.

We’re All Victims

Victims of the persecution include much more than Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. People from all walks of society have also— unwittingly—become victims.

SPREADING THE WORD: Grassroots efforts to raise awareness have brought together young and old, relaying an urgent message. INSIDE CHINA AROUND THE WORLD

The husband who is driven The reporter who betrays by his workplace to beat his his journalistic integrity—and own wife, having been threat- readership—by choosing not Unlikely Heroes ened by Party officials with the to cover abuses against Falun loss of his job should she con- Gong, for fear of losing press tinue practicing Falun Gong. credentials in China. In response to injustice in China, ordinary citi- The policeman who is The mayor who betrays her zens are doing extraordinary things—on both coerced into torturing Falun civic duty by refusing to engage Gong practitioners to renounce with Falun Gong constituents, sides of the Pacific. their beliefs, lest he miss a pro- lest she anger Chinese diplo- motion or be demoted for not mats and jeopardize Chinese A young software engineer and professors, businessmen and meeting quotas. investments in her city. arrives at Central Park in New government clerks. And they York City. It's cold, with a snow- number in the millions. The student who reports The businessman who storm looming. Mobilized around the cause, a college roommate to school betrays his conscience and yields Robert gathers a stack of flyers they have formed into the largest administrators, having to requests from Chinese coun- from his bag and stands before a grassroots, underground media in believed propaganda about terparts to disavow Falun Gong, row of placards about the perse- human history. Falun Gong and thinking it hoping to gain favor and secure At the heart cution of Falun Gong in China. For In tens of thousands of homes, evil or dangerous. more business opportunities. the next two hours he will spend basements, and other locales of these his Saturday morning handing throughout China, Falun Gong out flyers to passers by. practitioners make not only fliers, “Awareness works,” says Levi titioners have produced television efforts is On the other side of the world, leaflets, and newspapers, but also Browde of the Falun Dafa Infor- documentaries, designed internet Ms. Ling Chen, a woman in her banners, CDs, and DVDs. mation Center. “When a corrupt software to counteract censor- a belief: mid-40s, hops on a bicycle. Car- The items are distributed policeman finds out that his ship, filed suits against key perpe- rying a bag of leaflets, she will be throughout most every city and neighbors—and his wife—know trators, and even pedaled across awareness is peddling 90 minutes to a nearby village across China, often under he is torturing innocent people, he the country. village in central China. the cover of darkness. thinks twice before doing it again.” Their motivation? It goes back a powerful An accountant by trade, Ling The nighttime activity is for Other practitioners directly to a central component of Falun will be spending the next four protection. If caught, the price for target the torturers—by calling Gong practice: the concept of deterrent to hours placing leaflets on every posting just one informational them. An active network of people compassion. door in the village. After pedaling flier in public might be seven throughout China and abroad call “In Falun Gong we learn to think evil. home she'll get just a few hours of years in jail. And torture. the actual perpetrators, inform- of others first, and to develop our sleep before heading to work the Despite appearances, these are ing them that the world knows compassion. That means that the next morning. no ordinary citizens, but heroes: of their crimes and trying to con- suffering of others is our own, and The two have never met, but they put their personal well-being vince them to stop. so we can’t stand by and do noth- are bound by an unspoken cause: on the line, using their own free The calls often begin within ing,” says Robert. to end the horrific persecution of time and resources to help save hours of the information hav- Although Robert isn’t calling Falun Gong in China. the lives of people they may have ing been posted online. And the labor camps in China, he is help- They are part of a mounting— never met. responses are more encouraging ing to straighten them out. and global—grassroots effort, one than one might expect. Some “I’ll never forget the first time chapter in a story of extraordinary The power of awareness perpetrators apologize. Others I met a Chinese practitioner who courage and self-sacrifice. Their goal is to get the materi- beg for lenience, promising to had been released from a labor How you can help At the heart of these efforts is als they’ve produced—which desist, if only their names could camp after we wrote letters for • Give this paper to someone a belief: awareness is a powerful unveil the persecution in China be removed from the exposés. him,” Robert recalls. you know. deterrent to evil. and debunk Communist Party Sometimes the most unlikely “He had tears in his eyes describ- • Tell five people about what propaganda—into the hands of heroes are also the most effective. ing the moment he’d learned that you read here. One in a million as many people as possible. In a so many people out there were • Call on government to Inside China, Ms. Ling is not an country where a repressive regime Long distance love rooting for him.” press for an end to the isolated case. She and others like and kangaroo courts enable police The involvement of figures like It is in this spirit that this news- persecution. her are not lone activists at the and labor camp guards to torment Robert in the cause, separated paper was produced. We invite • For more news and insights about Falun Gong, visit: forefront of a movement, much with impunity, exposing abuses from the persecution by oceans, is you to share it with others you www.faluninfo.net. less young idealists. They are is one of the few avenues of pro- equally remarkable. know, and bring hope to the peo- mothers and daughters, students tection that victims have. Outside China, Falun Gong prac- ple of China. Issue 1 FREE 2012 SPECIAL EDITION

Why Falun Gong?

There’s a tale in the making The story is an incredible mix of beauty, terror, and hope. It is one that impacts and touches lives everywhere. And you’ll want to know it. It’s history in the making, some twenty years now. It’s the tale of Falun Gong, which began when the practice was first introduced to the pub- lic in May of 1992. We invite you to explore these pages, and discover this remarkable story. You’ll be glad you did.

What is Minghui?

Minghui is an all-volunteer organi- hand reports from across China Minghui also serves as a Gong practitioners. It is also Minghui has also launched zation that operates minghui.org, each and every day—more than central communication hub for watched closely by Chinese several subsidiary websites, a website dedicated to reporting any other organization in the Falun Gong practitioners around regime officials. each with a specialized focus, on the Falun Gong community world. Minghui offers the most the world to share insights and In recent years, Minghui such as radio broadcasts, photo worldwide. The focus of Minghui direct and up-to-date window ideas, expose the persecution unveiled versions of its website libraries, leaflets and newspa- is reports from China. For more into the lives of Falun Gong faced inside China, and com- in a variety of languages, includ- pers, etc. than a decade, Minghui editors practitioners across China and ment on its ramifications. It is ing English, French, Spanish, The English version of Ming- have received scores of first- throughout the world. the primary site read by Falun Russian and many others. hui’s website is en.minghui.org.