It is the biggest victim of China's doctrine of state atheism - Falun Gong.

Falun Gong is a religious movement. It believes in the cultivation of virtue and emphasises spiritual enlightenment.

Falun gong or the "dharma wheel practice" is a system of mind and body cultivation under China's ancient Qigong tradition. It's a combination of Buddhist and Taoist teachings and believes in the cultivation of moral character through forbearance.

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Falun Gong was established by the famous Chinese spiritual leader Li Hongzhi in May 1992. Li's movement attracted tens of millions of urban Chinese citizens. It also gained significant popularity across the world as the growth of the movement coincided with the migration of students from mainland China to the West.

Throughout the 90s Falun Gong clubs and associations began appearing in almost every part of Europe but in 1999 when the movement became a subject of international media coverage tension erupted between Falun Gong practitioners and the Chinese Communist Party.

China declared it illegal and said Falun Gong was advocating superstition. In the years that followed, the Chinese Communist Party launched a propaganda campaign to cast the movement as an "evil cult". The state media published articles blaming the Falun Gong for hoodwinking people as thousands of practitioners were arrested and detained. They were incarcerated in labour camps and subjected to torture, arbitrary execution and organ harvesting.

In 2006, a report by Canadian MP David Kilgour uncovered China's atrocities on Falun Gong practitioners. The report revealed a significant increase in China's annual organ transplant since 1999 in the same year when China began the crackdown.

In 2016, another report was released which estimated the volume of organs harvested to be around 100,000. As of today, Falun Gong does not exist in mainland China. The practitioners are mostly based overseas &nbsp;trying to draw the world's attention to their plight.

In September 2019, WION had travelled to New York to cover the UN General Assembly session. We had carried a report on the annual protests outside the UNGA headquarters. Falun Gong practitioners were seated quietly among the protesters. They have been persecuted for their beliefs, banished for their practices and robbed of their organs.

Falun Gong practitioners are still fighting for legitimacy and waiting to return home.

It is the biggest victim of China's doctrine of state atheism - Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a religious movement. It believes in the cultivation of virtue and emphasises spiritual enlightenment.

It is the biggest victim of China's doctrine of state atheism - Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a religious movement. It believes in the cultivation of virtue and emphasises spiritual enlightenment. Falun gong or the "dharma wheel practice" is a system of mind and body cultivation under China's ancient Qigong tradition. It's a combination of Buddhist and Taoist teachings and believes in the cultivation of moral character through forbearance. Falun Gong was established by the famous Chinese spiritual leader Li Hongzhi in May 1992. Li's movement attracted tens of millions of urban Chinese citizens. It also gained significant popularity across the world as the growth of the movement coincided with the migration of students from mainland China to the West. Throughout the 90s Falun Gong clubs and associations began appearing in almost every part of Europe but in 1999 when the movement became a subject of international media coverage tension erupted between Falun Gong practitioners and the Chinese Communist Party. China declared it illegal and said Falun Gong was advocating superstition. In the years that followed, the Chinese Communist Party launched a propaganda campaign to cast the movement as an "evil cult". The state media published articles blaming the Falun Gong for hoodwinking people as thousands of practitioners were arrested and detained. They were incarcerated in labour camps and subjected to torture, arbitrary execution and organ harvesting. In 2006, a report by Canadian MP David Kilgour uncovered China's atrocities on Falun Gong practitioners. The report revealed a significant increase in China's annual organ transplant since 1999 in the same year when China began the crackdown. In 2016, another report was released which estimated the volume of organs harvested to be around 100,000. As of today, Falun Gong does not exist in mainland China. The practitioners are mostly based overseas trying to draw the world's attention to their plight. In September 2019, WION had travelled to New York to cover the UN General Assembly session. We had carried a report on the annual protests outside the UNGA headquarters. Falun Gong practitioners were seated quietly among the protesters. They have been persecuted for their beliefs, banished for their practices and robbed of their organs. Falun Gong practitioners are still fighting for legitimacy and waiting to return home.

Did China steal organs of Falun Gong practitioners?

China has a new set of rules for all religions. The new rulebook declares that the Communist Party is above all of them. WION's Palki Sharma decodes the unholy diktat.

Gravitas: How China wants to rule over all religions

Under Mao Zedong, China once wanted to eradicate religion.

Under Xi Jinping's rule, it wants to rule over all religions. China has now issued a new set of rules, declaring that the communist party is above all religions.

In the summer of 2019, the true Jesus Church in the same province was razed to the ground. And in December, it came to light that China wants to rewrite the Quran and the Bible in order to reflect socialist values.

Christian rights activists have called this the worst crackdown on religion since the cultural revolution when under the leadership of Mao Zedong, China had vowed to eradicate religion.

Practising your religion in China is a tricky affair, President Xi Jinping maintains a tight grip on the country. And his ruling communist party of China is the supreme power.

But now, the party also has supremacy over all religions in China. And there are rules which govern this, running into six chapters and 41 articles. The rules were released in December 2019 by the National Religious Affairs Administration of China, and came into effect this month.

"The regulations include content on the organisation, functions, supervision and management of religious groups. They stipulate that religious affairs departments of people’s governments are the administrative bodies of religious groups, and should perform their functions such as guiding and supervising the groups’ operation," said the Chinese state media.

As anticipated, the unholy diktat has met with criticism. The regulations mean that all religions and related organisations should support what is called the 'sinicisation'&nbsp;of religions.

What is sinicisation?

The process by which the non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture. This means all five religions that are practised in China are secondary to the Communist Party.

And those practising Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism must now look up to the party for leadership. Not just that, they should also promote the party's policies.

But these rules are in a way only a rubber stamp, a confirmation of what was known on the ground all along. 
 
&nbsp;

Under Mao Zedong, China once wanted to eradicate religion. Under Xi Jinping's rule, it wants to rule over all religions. China has now issued a new set of rules, declaring that the communist party is above all religions.

Under Mao Zedong, China once wanted to eradicate religion. Under Xi Jinping's rule, it wants to rule over all religions. China has now issued a new set of rules, declaring that the communist party is above all religions. In the summer of 2019, the true Jesus Church in the same province was razed to the ground. And in December, it came to light that China wants to rewrite the Quran and the Bible in order to reflect socialist values. Christian rights activists have called this the worst crackdown on religion since the cultural revolution when under the leadership of Mao Zedong, China had vowed to eradicate religion. Practising your religion in China is a tricky affair, President Xi Jinping maintains a tight grip on the country. And his ruling communist party of China is the supreme power. But now, the party also has supremacy over all religions in China. And there are rules which govern this, running into six chapters and 41 articles. The rules were released in December 2019 by the National Religious Affairs Administration of China, and came into effect this month. "The regulations include content on the organisation, functions, supervision and management of religious groups. They stipulate that religious affairs departments of people’s governments are the administrative bodies of religious groups, and should perform their functions such as guiding and supervising the groups’ operation," said the Chinese state media. As anticipated, the unholy diktat has met with criticism. The regulations mean that all religions and related organisations should support what is called the 'sinicisation' of religions. What is sinicisation? The process by which the non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture. This means all five religions that are practised in China are secondary to the Communist Party. And those practising Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism must now look up to the party for leadership. Not just that, they should also promote the party's policies. But these rules are in a way only a rubber stamp, a confirmation of what was known on the ground all along.

Explained: China's war on religion