Editing Falun Gong (section)

===Dragon Springs compound===
Falun Gong operates out of [[Dragon Springs]], a {{convert|400|acre|ha|order=flip|adj=on|abbr=off}} compound located in [[Deerpark, New York]]. Falun Gong founder and leader Li Hongzhi resides near the compound, along with "hundreds" of Falun Gong adherents. Members of Falun Gong extension Shen Yun live and rehearse in the compound, which also contains schools and temples.<ref name="COLLINS-2019"/> The compound is registered as a church, Dragon Springs Buddhist, which gives it tax exemptions and greater privacy. Scholar Andrew Junker noted that in 2019, near Dragon Springs, in Middletown, was an office for the Falun Gong media extension ''The Epoch Times'', which published a special local edition.<ref name=JUNKER-2019-33-101 />

The compound has been a point of controversy among former residents. According to [[NBC News]]:

{{blockquote|
[F]our former compound residents and former Falun Gong practitioners who spoke to NBC News{{nbsp}}... said that life in Dragon Springs is tightly controlled by Li, that internet access is restricted, the use of medicines is discouraged, and arranged relationships are common. Two former residents on visas said they were offered to be set up with U.S. residents at the compound.

Tiger Huang, a former Dragon Springs resident who was on a United States student visa from Taiwan, said she was set up on three dates on the compound, and she believed her ability to stay in the United States was tied to the arrangement.

"The purpose of setting up the dates was obvious", Huang said. Her now-husband, a former Dragon Springs resident, confirmed the account. Huang said she was told by Dragon Springs officials her visa had expired and was told to go back to Taiwan after months of dating a nonpractitioner in the compound. She later learned that her visa had not expired when she was told to leave the country.<ref name="COLLINS-2019"/>}}

Acquired by Falun Gong in 2000, the site is closed to visitors and features guarded gates, has been a point of contention for some Deer Park residents concerned. In 2019, Falun Gong requested to expand the site, wishing to add a 920-seat concert hall, a new parking garage, a wastewater treatment plant and a conversion of meditation space into residential space large enough to bring the total residential capacity to 500 people. These plans met with opposition from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network regarding the wastewater treatment facility and the elimination of local wetlands, impacting local waterways such as the [[Basher Kill]] and [[Neversink River]]. Local residents opposed the expansion because it would increase traffic and reduce the rural character of the area. Falun Gong adherents living in the area have claimed that they have experienced discrimination from local residents.<ref name="ASSOCIATED-PRESS">{{Cite web|date=2019-04-30|first=Michael| last=Hill|title=Falun Gong US compound's neighbors fret over expansion plans|url=https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-dance-environment-420a741ec19c4db3993d408747874b2d|access-date=2023-02-10|website=AP News|language=en|archive-date=15 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015215136/https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-dance-environment-420a741ec19c4db3993d408747874b2d|url-status=live}}</ref>

After visiting in 2019, Junker noted that "the secrecy of Dragon Springs was obvious and a source of tension for the town". Junker adds that Dragon Springs's website says its restricted access is for security reasons, and that the site claims the compound contains orphans and refugees.{{sfn|Junker|2019|pp=100–101}}