Recent testimony of Ji and other followers points to the key role played by Li in fomenting the confrontation and in exploiting differences within the Chinese government to befuddle the Communist Party. From the start, Li Hongzhi, a former state grain clerk who leads Falun Gong from a secret location in the New York City borough of Queens, sought to take on Chinese police and continues to urge his followers to confront the security services.
According to Falun Gong practitioners, Li's pronouncements have encouraged a belief that the suffering incurred in opposing China's authoritarian government can elevate followers to a higher level of spiritual existence, which Li describes as "consummation."
Falun Gong spokeswoman says Li has never directed his followers to do or say anything. But numerous interviews with practitioners in China indicate Li encouraged protests leading up to the movement's spectacular debut on the world stage on April 25, 1999, when 10,000 members surrounded Communist Party headquarters in Beijing.
In the preceding year, Li's followers had conducted some major protests in the major cities and provinces, putting Falun Gong on a collision course with the party leadership. And days before the April 25 incident, Li came to China, apparently to direct the unprecedented sit-in, which has been cited by Jiang as the reason for beginning his campaign against the group.
Li said in a speech in December urging followers to continue civil disobedience. "Those who haven't stepped forward have hidden themselves and have sided in their understanding with the evil beings - how could they still be [Falun Gong] disciples?
He criticized followers, "Some students repented…But this is unacceptable."
