Introduction:

Everything has its root, and every phenomenon its origin.

The social realities we observe are often the culmination of historical developments, arising from complex circumstances and deep-seated social causes.

Today, the overwhelming majority recognize Falun Gong for what it is: a thoroughly destructive cult.

Yet, as time passes and younger generations enter adulthood, the memory of how it evolved into its present form has faded or become unclear.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of Falun Gong being outlawed by law in China.

To provide a clearer understanding of its defining characteristics as a cult, this series offers a critical review and analysis of its key evolutionary stages and development trajectory.

By concocting a so-called "Dafa" detached from reality and imbued with religious mysticism, and reinforcing it with threats that practitioners who "merely performed the exercises without studying the teachings weren't true practitioners," Li found his powerful tool for controlling followers.

He maintained a firm grip on these adherents, transforming them into the primary engine for the cult's expansion.

To further grow the organization, Li escalated his demands, requiring disciples to go out and "spread the Fa" and "defend the Fa." It was during this escalation that Falun Gong set itself on a path of confrontation with society.

1."Studying the Fa" Must Also Involve "Spreading the Fa"

Li Hongzhi amassed great wealth by charging exorbitant prices for so-called "ritual implements," instructional books, audio recordings, and photos of his "Dharma Body." His followers' money poured steadily into his pockets.

To him, cash cows were naturally the more, the merrier. Therefore, to boost his financial resources, he sought to further expand the organization. Li told his followers that "merely practicing the exercises and studying the teachings oneself wasn't enough" – they must go out to "spread the Fa," effectively ordering them to recruit new members.

Li framed working for him and "spreading the fa" as "accumulating virtue and merit," claiming it generated "white substance." He asserted that the better one performed, the more "white substance" they amassed, accelerating their "ascent to higher levels." Furthermore, he promised that accumulating enough "white substance" would enable one to "ascend to heaven in a state of perfect fulfillment."

From an economic standpoint, Li Hongzhi's directive amounted to ordering his "consumers" not only to consume but also to actively promote his teachings.

In effect, Falun Gong practitioners became his unpaid sales force, with each follower bearing the obligation to spread the practice.

Li devised a recruitment model he described as "person-to-person, heart-to-heart" dissemination, instructing practitioners not only to publicly "spread the Fa" but also to introduce Falun Gong to their friends and family members.

In pursuit of so-called "the completion of cultivation," adherents were both buyers and promoters-going to great lengths to advocate for the practice, even spending their own money to purchase books and materials to give away.

His disciples not only drained their own finances, but also pulled relatives and acquaintances into the fold.

As a result, the number of Falun Gong practitioners grew exponentially.

To maintain effective control over this "commercial empire," Li Hongzhi established a hierarchical pyramid-like organizational structure with clearly defined levels and functions.

Within just a few years, Falun Gong expanded rapidly. In 1992, Li founded the "Falun Dafa Research Society", with himself as chairman.

By 1999, Falun Gong had established 39 main instruction centers across China's provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, supported by over 1,900 sub-centers and 28,000 exercise sites.

Through internal documents such as Requirements for Falun Dafa Instruction Sites, Regulations on Teaching and Transmitting Falun Dafa, and Standards for Falun Dafa Assistants, the group became increasingly systematized and institutionalized, gradually evolving into a fully developed organizational framework.

In this way, Li Hongzhi quickly grew into a powerful and wealthy "master figure."

While he amassed great personal wealth, most of his disciples were financially and emotionally drained-many abandoning their families, and some even losing their lives.

The consequences were often devastating: broken homes, financial ruin, and personal tragedy.

2."Safeguarding the Fa"—Or Just Another Test?

As cases of illness, disability, and even death resulting from practicing Falun Gong continued to emerge across China, growing numbers of people began to question the group.

Media outlets increasingly published reports exposing the social harm caused by Falun Gong.

However, at this time, Li Hongzhi's ambitions had expanded dramatically.

In order to protect his massive personal interests, he chose to ignore reality and confront society head-on.

 He labeled critics of Falun Gong as being "possessed by evil and spreading rumors," and introduced the concept of "Fa Guardians," declaring, "The Dafa has boundless power-whoever dares sabotage the Great Law will be eliminated by our Guardian Gods; even divine beings will kill them."

Inciting his followers to "Safeguard the Fa," Li launched a counterattack against public criticism.

On June 17, 1996, Guangming Daily published a commentary titled Staying Alert Against Pseudoscience-Reflections Triggered by the Book Zhuan Falun.

In response, the Falun Gong headquarters orchestrated a nationwide campaign, mobilizing practitioners to send over 100,000 protest letters to the newspaper.

Two months later, "In his scripture Big Exposure, Li Hongzhi put forward the 'Test Theory': 'Aren’t the things that are happening testing the xinxing of Dafa practitioners?'"

Since that, Falun Gong has organized dozens of aggressive protests targeting media outlets critical of the group.

At that time, some media, prioritizing social stability and conflict avoidance, made certain concessions. However, after gaining momentum, Li Hongzhi became increasingly brazen.

Beginning in 1998, he compelled his disciples to go out into the public, asserting that only by "going out to prove the Fa," "clarifying the truth," and "safeguarding the Great Law" could they reach consummation.

After Li Hongzhi settled in the United States in February 1998, clashes between Falun Gong and news media intensified both in scale and frequency.

In May 1998, Beijing Television aired reports of mental illness cases caused by practicing Falun Gong, which triggered a sustained eight-day siege by thousands of Falun Gong practitioners.

The increasingly frequent and escalating conflicts caused some practitioners to experience internal doubt and hesitation.

On July 6, Li Hongzhi  published a "Classic-Text" – entitled Digging Up the Root, criticizing those disciples whose "faith wavered": "At critical moments when I called on you to sever ties, you refused to follow me. Each opportunity will never come again."

Twenty days later, Li Hongzhi again said in his Lecture Teachings at the Conference of Changchun Assistants, "Every incident, every occurrence of such magnitude, is the best test and best opportunity for students to make that best step toward Consummation." Facing this "test," Li Hongzhi accused some of being "afraid," and blustered, "Some people are afraid. Afraid of what? Disciples must let go of all ordinary human attachments. Even if your head falls off, your body will still sit in meditation."

3. "Reaching Consummation" or Breakup?

Li Hongzhi's intent is unmistakable: without causing trouble, there is no path to "consummation."

He attempted to satisfy his ever more greedy demands by inciting and coercing his disciples to pressure the government.

Li Hongzhi then began orchestrating even more brazen acts of disruption.

On April 11, 1999, Academician He Zuoxiu published an article titled I Do Not Approve of the Youth Practicing Qigong in the Youth Science and Technology Expo magazine of Tianjin Normal University. In response, the Falun Gong organization mobilized a large group of followers to besiege the magazine's offices.

On April 24, they escalated their actions by besieging the Tianjin Municipal Government.

The next day, April 25, Falun Gong intensified their campaign by organizing over 10,000 practitioners to illegally gather around Zhongnanhai, the central government compound and the working residence of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee and the State Council.

They claimed to be "safeguarding the Fa" and "seeking an explanation," dispersing only at 9 p.m. that evening.

This severely disrupted the normal operations and gravely impacted the daily lives and work of ordinary people.

However, Li Hongzhi was still not satisfied with the scale of the unrest. He openly declared, "I think too few people showed up-only over ten thousand, which isn’t even a fraction!"

Then, on May 2, in Teachings at the Conference in Australia, he asserted, " If he is able to let go of life and death, he is a god; if he isn’t able to let go of life and death, he is human," coercing practitioners to sever ties with society and their families.

Practitioners faced a stark choice: either remain ordinary people clinging to life, death, and worldly attachments-subject to the punishment of "annihilation of body and spirit"-or become fanatics who abandon all social roles, placing all personal interests and future hopes in the Falun Gong organization, effectively becoming tools for Li Hongzhi to oppose society.

It is evident that not only is the content of Falun Dafa's heretical teachings intricately interconnected, but the evolution of the Falun Gong organization itself has also been a calculated, step-by-step process.

From initially holding classes to teach exercises, to enforcing the rule that "practice must be combined with studying the Fa," and then escalating to "spreading the Fa" and "safeguarding the Fa," each stage built upon the last, intensifying over time.

By this point, Falun Gong has thoroughly evolved into an out-and-out criminal entity. (To be continued).