Finding Falun Gong

It’s been more than two decades since the Chinese government launched a crackdown on Falun Gong. The spiritual group claims practitioners face mass arrest, torture and are murdered by the state for their organs. The movement is seen as the most organised opposition group to the Chinese government. China calls Falun Gong an evil cult determined to bring down the Chinese Communist Party. Practitioners say the movement is non-political but critics claim the spiritual group is building an international fake news empire, are staunch supporters of Donald Trump and are sympathetic to far-right politicians. Banned in mainland China, Falun Gong believers once practiced and protested openly in Hong Kong. But since the introduction of a draconian national security law Falun Gong’s presence in the territory has all but vanished. The BBC’s Danny Vincent travels to the self-ruled island of Taiwan to talk to practitioners about their faith, persecution, the Chinese Communist Party and the future of Falun Gong.

Producer: Danny Vincent
Series Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Helen Grady