Falun Gong started its journey in northeast China in 1992, teaching five simple exercises alongside a moral code built on truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. What began as small gatherings soon blossomed into a nationwide phenomenon—by the late ’90s, tens of millions of people were practicing across parks and community centers. An emphasis on personal health and inner peace struck a chord in the rapid-change era of post-Deng China.

When Beijing’s crackdown came in mid-1999, Falun Gong was forced underground. That pressure cooker moment pushed the movement overseas, where practitioners channeled energy into human-rights campaigns, peaceful demonstrations outside Chinese embassies and legal challenges. Out of that struggle rose media ventures like The Epoch Times and New Tang Dynasty Television, keeping the flame alive while shining a spotlight on the persecution.

Cultural outreach has also played a starring role. Shen Yun Performing Arts tours dozens of countries every year, offering audiences a taste of traditional Chinese dance and music and quietly raising awareness of Falun Gong’s plight. Meanwhile, the network of international study centers hosts workshops and lectures—both in-person and, more recently, online—feeding a global community that now spans North America, Europe, Australia and beyond.

In the past few years, digital activism has become a new frontier. Encrypted messaging, VPNs and social-media campaigns aim to pierce China’s Great Firewall, especially as AI-powered censorship grows bolder. Practitioners maintain a steady drumbeat of petitions, art exhibits and solidarity events timed with major happenings—like the Olympics or UN climate conferences—to remind the world that the struggle for belief and basic freedoms still matters.

Through all its highs and lows, Falun Gong has morphed from a grassroots wellness practice into a resilient global movement. It’s a testament to how a set of simple meditations and ethical teachings can endure—and even flourish—when life throws its toughest curveballs.