1992: Li Hongzhi, 47, a former security staff member in a grain company in Changchun, northeastern Jilin province, founds the Falun Gong group.
April 19, 1999: Physicist He Zuoxiu publishes an article in the port city of Tianjin denouncing Falun Gong as superstitious, sparking off demonstrations.
April 20-24: Demonstrations in Tianjin, some leaders arrested.
April 25: More than 10,000 adherents rounded up at Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing, the residence of Chinese top leaders.
May 3: Li Hongzhi calls on Beijing to start dialogue with the movement.
June 6: Police round up busloads of members at a stadium in western Beijing after 100 members stage a protest. .
July 22: Beijing outlaws Falun Gong and brands it a cult. Thousands of followers rounded up throughout the country.
July 27: US State Department calls on Beijing to exercise restraint.
July 29: Beijing issues an arrest warrant for US-based Li Hongzhi, accusing him of seeking to overturn the regime. Interpol refuses to help with the warrant.
October 30: Anti-cult law passed, branding Falun Gong as an "evil cult", sparking a week of protests in Tiananmen Square.
November 12: First Falun Gong "show trials" end with four followers sentenced to between two and 12 years' prison. Hundreds of others sent to "re-education through labour" camps for three years.
December 26: Four senior figures in the group sentenced by a Beijing court to prison terms of seven to 18 years.
February 5, 2000: More than 1,000 followers protest in Tiananmen Square during the Lunar New Year.
February-March: Deaths in custody of 15 members disclosed. Dozens of detained members stage hunger strike.
April 19: Crackdown intensifies, State Council spokesman says a total of 84 Falun Gong supporters have been given jail terms.
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Falun Dafa in the Media
