What is Falun Dafa?

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a traditional Chinese qi gong practice designed to enhance the health of the mind and body through exercises and meditation. It is known as a cultivation practice, with cultivation referring to the improvement of ones heart and mind through the study of universal principles based on truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance.

The practice consists of five gentle exercises, including a sitting meditation. There is no fee to learn these exercises and volunteers run classes worldwide. Falun Dafa is not aligned to any political group or religion. In fact, there is no membership list and no donations are accepted.

Mr Li Hongzhi first introduced Falun Dafa to the general public in 1992 in China. Until 1999, the Chinese government had praised the practice of Falun Dafa for improving the health and morality of many Chinese people. However, as Falun Dafa increased in popularity, the Chinese government began discouraging the practice because they considered that its spiritual nature was not in keeping with Communist ideology.

On 25 April 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners held a legal, peaceful gathering in Beijing. The gathering was prompted by reports of violence and harassment inflicted by Chinese police on Falun Dafa practitioners, as well as an unjustified ban on the publication of Falun Dafa material.

The gathering caused concern among China’s leaders. Not since the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 had so many people gathered to make an appeal to the government. The government’s reaction was swift and brutal. On the night of 19 July 1999, police raided the homes of hundreds of practitioners and placed them in prison. The next day Falun Dafa was officially declared illegal in China. A government campaign was then implemented to suppress and destroy Falun Dafa.

The state-controlled media in China began spreading false information to the public and through the Chinese embassies around the world. The purpose was to mislead the public by covering up the severe human rights abuses committed against the thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners held in detention and subjected to interrogation. Senator Vicki Bourne, Australian Democrats spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, states, "The arrest of Falun Dafa practitioners is in contravention of basic human rights such as the freedom of belief, assembly and expression."

Millions of Falun Dafa books and tapes have been publicly destroyed. Access to all Internet websites regarding Falun Dafa has been blocked in China, and those who send out accounts of the beatings and abuse experienced by Falun Dafa supporters while in detention are arrested and jailed for leaking state secrets. Practitioners have been denied legal representation and have received sentences of up to 18 years in prison. Thousands of others have been denied trial and sent to forced labour camps, including the Masanjia labour camp. Other Falun Dafa practitioners have been committed to psychiatric wards and medicated.

To date, there are more than 40 documented cases of otherwise healthy practitioners being beaten to death while in detention. During such times of violence, Falun Dafa practitioners have used only non-violent, peaceful and legal means to appeal.