Falun Gong facts for kids
Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is a spiritual discipline from China with exercises similar to Tai chi chuan. It was founded by Li Hongzhi in 1992. People who follow Falun Gong do five exercises and read books written by Li Hongzhi, the movement's founder. They believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance", and they also believe that the Falun Gong exercises can make them healthy, and make them better people. In 1999, after a big Falun Gong gathering in front of a Chinese government building, the Communist Party of China said: people cannot practice Falun Gong, it is "illegal".
The police started arresting Falun Gong followers, and according to human rights organizations, over 3000 people have been jailed and tortured to death. The Chinese government claimed that Falun Gong spread superstitions, while others have suggest that Falun Gong's popularity challenges the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. Many people and organizations outside of China have called for the Chinese government to stop jailing and killing Falun Gong people.
It is not known how many people practice Falun Gong. The Chinese government suggests there were 70 million practitioners in China in 1998. A Falun Gong website claims there are 100 million practitioners in more than 80 countries.
Reporter Ethan Gutmann said about 65,000 Falun Gong people were killed for their body parts from 2000 to 2008.
Images for kids
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Falun Gong founder and leader Li Hongzhi
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Falun Gong adherents practice the fifth exercise, a meditation, in Manhattan
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The five exercises of Falun Gong
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Falun Gong adherents practice the third exercise in Toronto
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Morning Falun Dafa exercises in Guangzhou
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610 Office's organization in China
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Ethan Gutmann (left) with Edward McMillan-Scott at a Foreign Press Association press conference, 2009
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Falun Gong practitioners outside China hold events such as this group exercise in Los Angeles
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See also
In Spanish: Falun Gong para niños
