Falun Gong's Challenge to China (2001)

From the multi-award winning international veteran investigative journalist Danny Schechter (Rights & Wrongs, South Africa Now) comes the first complete and objective look at FALUN GONG, a non-violent... read more , anti-materialistic spiritual movement drawing on Buddhist and Taoist traditions; its 100 million followers in over 40 countries, including the U.S., and the tremors it's practioners are causing in the corridors of power in the People's Republic of China today by way of their peaceful protests in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bishop Desmond Tutu in support of freedom of conscience and freedom of association. In one of the most bizarre cases of political repression in modern history, the People's Republic of China has banned a spiritual practice built around traditional exercises and meditation. On April 25, 1999 15,000 FALUNGONG practioners quietly surrounded the government leadership compound in the heart of Beijing in silent protest against what they considered an inaccurate, slanderous attack on FALUN GONG in a state - sponsored magazine. Since then, FALUN GONG practioners have stepped forward repeatedly to appeal to their government for the right to practice their faith. The Chinese government has responded by banning FALUN GONG, branding them an "evil cult", arresting more than 50,000 practioners to date (including a number of foreign nationals), killing at least 193 of them (with thousands of detainees as yet unaccounted for) while torturing thousands more and burning over 8 million books written by FALUN GONG founder Li Hongzhi, recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, who is now living in exile in fear for his life. The film incorporates video and audio tapes and still photos smuggled outof China to document the horrendous human rights abuses generated by the Chinese authorities in their attempts to wipe out FALUN GONG. The film traces the history of FALUN GONG, including the now-forgotten enthusiastic support of the movement by the Chinese government during the early days of the movement. It presents a shocking cinematic record of the Chinese government's war against its own people and the FALUN GONG movement's indefatigable will to survive. -- © 2001 Hargrove Entertainment