From a Reader in China: Why the Accusation that Falun Gong Seeks to Make Money Is Groundless

(Minghui.org) Recently I read several articles from an overseas news media outlet implying that Falun Gong’s founder is seeking to profit from religious fanaticism and exploitation.

As a businessman who has practiced Falun Gong for about 30 years, I want to point out that such accusations are groundless. In fact, none of the projects started by Falun Gong practitioners would make sense if the purpose were to make money. Here is why.

According to public information, before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress the group in 1999, the number of Falun Gong practitioners had reached 70 to 100 million. It was the most popular qigong practice, and some believed the number of Falun Gong practitioners had exceeded those from several less popular qigong schools combined. From a marketing perspective, raking in some money based on a “fan economy” could not be easier.

But the founder of Falun Gong did not do that. Practitioners across China could buy one or more Falun Gong books to read and, if possible, two audiotapes of exercise music. Even the main book, Zhuan Falun, only cost 12 yuan (about $1.50 USD), while the price of the audiotapes was similar to that of blank tapes available everywhere. In fact, practitioners were not even required to buy these–they could read with others, listen to others reading, or copy the audio tape onto blank tapes. All the books and audiovisual materials have since been available for free online.

In addition, Falun Gong exercise instruction, group exercise, and experience-sharing conferences have always been free of charge. There is no membership fee (or even a roster) or any other fees.

All these are contrary to what should be done if one’s purpose were to make money.

Comparison to Other Qigong Systems

Some may argue that people were not money-savvy at the time Falun Gong was introduced to the public in the early 1990s. Let’s look at some other qigong practices taught during that period of time.

The popularity of qigong started in the 1980s and peaked in the 1990s. To cure illnesses or improve their health in general, many people were willing to pay if it suited their need. According to public information, the qigong system of Zhong Gong, for example, had a multilevel and multifaceted fee collection model. To learn its four sets of exercises, practitioners were charged 40, 70, 200, and 200 yuan, respectively. In addition, there was an apprenticeship fee of 300 yuan and a tutoring fee of 200 yuan. One of its books, Yuan Dun Mi Fa, was even pricier and was later sold for as high as 2,000 yuan.

And these fees were just for learning the exercises. According to one of my friends who had followed Zhong Gong in the past, there were huge commercial chains across China, such as “Information Tea” in Qingcheng Mountain, plus large-scale high-end health bases all over the country. All these were costly. Furthermore, officials in Zhong Gong could charge in their own ways, and some asked for money to teach supernormal abilities.

None of these are seen in Falun Gong. In fact, Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong, explicitly prohibited such fees because he only wanted to improve people’s minds and bodies, regardless of their social status. Otherwise, since Falun Gong was introduced to the public four years after Zhong Gong, any of the methods mentioned above would have made Mr. Li a quick and easy fortune.

No Elite Group Model

Given the popularity of Falun Gong, were the purpose to make money, the “elite group” model would be much simpler. Another qigong master, Wang Lin, actually took this approach. Based on photos taken in the 1980s, one could see that Wang mainly interacted with high officials, celebrities, and successful business people. Since there was no internet available in China at the time, many ordinary citizens had not even heard of him.

How much money did Wang make? He claimed in the 1990s to have made two to three billion yuan, while news media claimed it could be much higher. Documents showed that he had at least five luxury houses in his hometown, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and likely other places. The mansion in his hometown was bigger than the county’s administrative complex.

What Our Society Needs

Living in communist China, ordinary citizens can only endure–be it physical illness, unfair treatment, human rights abuses, and nowadays tight censorship. Fortunately, some of us learned Falun Gong and found hope. In addition to good health, we achieved inner peace and spiritual growth. That is why a large number of practitioners in China would not give up on their faith despite the harsh persecution.

But the situation outside China is different. There is no CCP, and there is freedom of belief and speech. I am really sad to see a major Western news outlet publish such biased reports on Shen Yun and Falun Gong. I have heard that truth, accuracy, and objectivity are the cornerstones of journalism, but I did not see that here.

I understand there could be pressure from the CCP or people influenced by the CCP. But we have to follow our conscience, right? If one wants to advocate for justice, there are countless miseries we cannot ignore: the terrible lives of Chinese people under the pandemic lockdowns, numerous human rights abuses in China where the people do not have a voice, not to mention the ruthless persecution of Falun Gong and forced organ harvesting by the CCP.

Despite the persecution and countless difficulties, Master Li and Falun Gong practitioners have worked hard and succeeded in creating and growing Shen Yun, bringing authentic traditional Chinese culture to Americans and people around the world. Isn’t this something we should praise and cherish? A single popular movie can bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. After nearly 20 years of hard work, Shen Yun has put on hundreds of shows around the world each year with world-class artistry, and it has accumulated only about $250 million in assets. This is a relatively modest amount given the context.

It is well known that the CCP has squandered its resources in targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun all these years because they reflect traditional values–something the regime cannot tolerate. When Western media outlets take elements of spiritual faith out of context to try to denegrate Falun Gong and Shen Yun, they are, in essence, attacking all people of faith.