![]() Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are believed to be held “at various prisons and extralegal detention centers” in mainland China, according to Washington-based rights group Freedom House – an accusation Beijing also denies. Similar laws in China have been used to go after Falun Gong practitioners, which Beijing denounces as an “ evil cult” that “preaches heretical fallacies that are anti-humanity and anti-science” through the control of people’s minds.įalun Gong practitioners reject these charges and maintain they have been unfairly targeted and suppressed by the Chinese authorities. DALE DE LA REY/AFP/AFP via Getty ImagesĬrossing the border by bus from China and seeing Falun Gong practitioners handing out anti-Communist Party leaflets was once one of the most visible signs of Hong Kong’s relative autonomy from Beijing.Īll that could soon be deemed illegal under a sweeping new security law passed by China for Hong Kong last month that criminalized “acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security.” Protesters have also targeted Chinese politicians and offices in the city, and regularly take part in mass anti-government rallies and marches.Ī woman watches as supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual group, banned in mainland China, take part in a march in Hong Kong on April 27, 2019, to observe the 20th anniversary of a large demonstration in Beijing which led to a crackdown against the movement. But it continues to operate in Hong Kong thanks to the territory’s greater human rights protections.įor decades now, Falun Gong protests against the Chinese government have been a common sight on the city’s streets, with practitioners setting up gory mock surgery scenes to raise awareness about allegations of organ harvesting, and handing out free copies of the Falun Gong-linked newspaper, Epoch Times. Stop the persecution of Falun Gong.”Ī religious movement that emerged in China in the mid-1990s, Falun Gong surged in popularity nationwide before it was banned and brutally suppressed on the mainland in 1999. “Keep away from the Chinese Communist Party. But it was their giant banners, held aloft or mounted on small floats, that indicated this was not just a religious rally. Marchers, dressed all in yellow, carried purple lotus plants, yin-yang symbols, and other traditional Buddhist icons. To the upbeat sounds of a blue-uniformed brass band, the rally proceeded through downtown Hong Kong. ![]()
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