Editing Falun Gong (section)

===1996–1999===
Falun Gong's departure from the state-run CQRS corresponded to a wider shift in the government's attitudes towards qigong practices. As qigong's detractors in government grew more influential, authorities began attempting to rein in the growth and influence of these groups, some of which had amassed tens of millions of followers.<ref name=Ownbyfuture/> In the mid-1990s the state-run media began publishing articles critical of qigong.<ref name=Ownbyfuture/><ref name=Palmer/>

Falun Gong was initially shielded from the mounting criticism, but following its withdrawal from the CQRS in March 1996, it lost this protection. On 17 June 1996, the ''[[Guangming Daily]]'', an influential state-run newspaper, published a polemic against Falun Gong in which its central text, ''Zhuan Falun'', was described as an example of "feudal superstition".<ref name=Ownbyfuture/><ref name="Palmer249">{{harvp|Palmer|2007|p=249}}</ref> The author wrote that the history of humanity is a "struggle between science and superstition", and called on Chinese publishers not to print "pseudo-scientific books of the swindlers". The article was followed by at least twenty more in newspapers nationwide. Soon after, on 24 July, the CCP's [[Central Propaganda Department]] banned all publication of Falun Gong books (though the ban was not consistently enforced).<ref name=Palmer249/> The state-administered Buddhist Association of China also began issuing criticisms of Falun Gong, urging lay Buddhists not to take up the practice.<ref>{{harvp|Palmer|2007|p=263}}</ref>

The criticisms of Falun Gong were part of a larger movement opposing qigong organizations in the state-run media.<ref>{{harvp|Penny|2012|p=53}}.</ref> Falun Gong was not the only target of the media criticism, nor the only group to protest, but it was the most mobilized and steadfast response.<ref name="zhao" /> Thousands of Falun Gong followers wrote to ''Guangming Daily'' and to the CQRS to complain against the measures, claiming that they violated [[Hu Yaobang]]'s 1982 'Triple No' directive, which prohibited the media from either encouraging or criticizing qigong practices.<ref name=Palmer249/><ref>{{cite book |first=Sumner B. |last=Twiss |chapter=Religious Intolerance in Contemporary China, Including the Curious Case of Falun Gong |title=The World's Religions After 11 September |editor-first=Arvind |editor-last=Sharma |publisher=Greenwood |year=2009 |pages=227–240}}</ref> In other instances, Falun Gong practitioners staged peaceful demonstrations outside media or local government offices to request retractions of perceived unfair coverage.<ref name=Pennyreligion/> Many of Falun Gong's protests against negative media portrayals were successful, resulting in the retraction of several newspaper stories critical of the practice. This contributed to practitioners' belief that the media claims against them were false or exaggerated, and that their stance was justified.<ref>{{harvp|Ownby|2008|p=170}}</ref>

In June 1998, [[He Zuoxiu]], an outspoken critic of qigong and a fierce defender of Marxism, appeared on a talk show on [[Beijing Television]] and openly disparaged ''qigong'' groups, making particular mention of Falun Gong.<ref>{{harvp|Palmer|2007|pp=134, 252–256}}</ref> Falun Gong practitioners responded with peaceful protests and by lobbying the station for a retraction. The reporter responsible for the program was reportedly fired, and a program favorable to Falun Gong was aired several days later.<ref name="Jude Howell">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&q=Governance+in+China+~+Jude+Howell&pg=PP1 |title=Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong |last=Østergaard |first=Clemens Stubbe |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2003 |isbn=978-0742519886 |editor-last=Jude Howell |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=214–223 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405191336/https://books.google.com/books?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&q=Governance+in+China+~+Jude+Howell&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Dangerous">{{Cite book |title=Dangerous meditation: China's campaign against Falungong |last=Spiegel |first=Mickey |year=2001 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |location=New York |page=9 |isbn=156432270X |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/china/index.htm |access-date=25 April 2024 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321113113/http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/china/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Falun Gong practitioners also mounted demonstrations at 14 other media outlets.<ref name="Jude Howell"/>

In 1997, The Ministry of Public Security launched an investigation into whether Falun Gong should be deemed {{lang|zh-Latn|xie jiao}} ({{lang|zh|邪教}}, "heretical teaching"). The report concluded that "no evidence has appeared thus far".<ref>{{harvp|Palmer|2007|p=265}}</ref> The following year, however, on 21 July 1998, the Ministry of Public Security issued Document No. 555, "Notice of the Investigation of Falun Gong". The document asserted that Falun Gong is a "heretical teaching", and mandated that another investigation be launched to seek evidence in support of the conclusion.<ref name="Palmer267"/> Falun Gong practitioners reported having phone lines tapped, homes ransacked and raided, and Falun Gong exercise sites disrupted by public security agents.<ref name=Pennyreligion/>

In this time period, even as criticism of qigong and Falun Gong mounted in some circles, the practice maintained a number of high-profile supporters in the government. In 1998, [[Qiao Shi]], the recently retired [[chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]], initiated his own investigation into Falun Gong. After months of investigations, his group concluded that "Falun Gong has hundreds of benefits for the Chinese people and China, and does not have one single bad effect."<ref>{{harvp|Penny|2012|p=56}}.</ref> In May of the same year, China's National Sports Commission launched its own survey of Falun Gong. Based on interviews with over 12,000 Falun Gong practitioners in [[Guangdong]] province,<ref name=Palmer/> they stated that they were "convinced the exercises and effects of Falun Gong are excellent. It has done an extraordinary amount to improve society's stability and ethics."

The practice's founder, Li Hongzhi, was largely absent from the country during the period of rising tensions with the government. In March 1995, Li had left China to first teach his practice in France and then other countries, and in 1998 obtained permanent residency in the United States.<ref name=Pennyreligion/><ref name=Palmer/><ref name="GallagherAshcraft2006">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ClaySHbUEogC&pg=PA174 |title=Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: African diaspora traditions and other American innovations |last1=Gallagher |first1=Eugene V. |last2=Ashcraft |first2=W. Michael |publisher=Greenwood |year=2006 |isbn=978-0275987176 |page=174 |access-date=4 February 2012}}</ref>

By 1999, estimates provided by the [[State Sports Commission]] suggested there were 70 million Falun Gong practitioners in China.<ref name=Faison/><ref name="Schoff"/> An anonymous employee of China's National Sports Commission, was at this time quoted in an interview with U.S. News & World Report as speculating that if 100&nbsp;million had taken up Falun Gong and other forms of qigong there would be a dramatic reduction of health care costs and that "Premier Zhu Rongji is very happy about that."<ref name="BayFang" />