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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falun Gong | 8/19 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:19:45.563084+00:00 | kb-cron |
"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. 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. 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.
== Demography == Prior to July 1999, official Chinese government estimates placed the number of Falun Gong practitioners at 70 million nationwide, rivalling membership in the CCP. By the time of the persecution on 22 July 1999, most Chinese government numbers said the population of Falun Gong was between 2 and 3 million, though some publications maintained an estimate of 40 million. The Falun Gong organization estimated in the same period that the total number of practitioners in China was between 70 and 80 million, though sociologist David A. Palmer notes these numbers were likely highly inflated and gives a more reasonable estimate of 10 million. Other sources have estimated the Falun Gong population in China to have peaked between 10 and 70 million practitioners. The number of Falun Gong practitioners still practicing in China today is difficult to confirm, though the NGO Freedom House estimates that 7 to 20 million continue to practice privately. Demographic surveys conducted in China in 1998 found a population that was mostly female and elderly. Of 34,351 Falun Gong practitioners surveyed, 27% were male and 73% female. Only 38% were under 50 years old. Falun Gong attracted a range of other individuals, from young college students to bureaucrats, intellectuals and Party officials. Surveys in China from the 1990s found that between 23 and 40% of practitioners held university degrees at the college or graduate level—several times higher than the general population. Falun Gong is practiced by tens, and possibly hundreds, of thousands outside China, with the largest communities found in Taiwan and North American cities with large Chinese populations, such as New York and Toronto. Demographic surveys by Palmer and Ownby in these communities found that 90% of practitioners are ethnic Chinese. The average age was approximately 40. Among survey respondents, 56% were female and 44% male; 80% were married. The surveys found the respondents to be highly educated: 9% held PhDs, 34% had master's degrees, and 24% had a bachelor's degree. As of 2008, the most commonly reported reasons for being attracted to Falun Gong were intellectual content, cultivation exercises, and health benefits. Non-Chinese Falun Gong practitioners tend to fit the profile of "spiritual seekers"—people who had tried a variety of qigong, yoga, or religious practices before finding Falun Gong. According to sociologist Richard Madsen, who specializes in studying modern Chinese culture, Chinese scientists with doctorates from prestigious American universities who practice Falun Gong claim that modern physics (for example, superstring theory) and biology (specifically the pineal gland's function) provide a scientific basis for their beliefs. From their point of view, "Falun Dafa is knowledge rather than religion, a new form of science rather than faith".
== History inside China ==
Falun Gong developed during the China's qigong fever. Qigong practice had become a national phenomenon, and in the 1980s and 1990s people would gather in parks and other public places to practice qigong. Some gatherings hosted thousands of people. Qigong masters traveled around the country giving lectures, providing training, and establishing networks of qigong practice.