Followers of Falun Gong say the spiritual practice promotes health and well-being through meditation techniques.
But the Chinese government has banned the movement, calling it an XX and XX [Chinese governments slanderous words].
Government officials have sent thousands of followers to labor camps and committed hundreds more to mental institutions.
Next week, local residents will be able to see for themselves what the practice teaches. Next Saturday, Daly City follower Huy Lu will lead a free two-hour workshop at the Modesto library on the basics of Falun Gong.
"We're promoting a peaceful and healthy practice," Lu said.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was founded in 1992 in China by Li Hongzhi, who now lives in exile in New York. Today, the practice has spread to 40 countries and reportedly attracts more than 100 million people.
Followers say it is not a religion and can be practiced by people of any faith or no faith.
Falun Gong consists of five exercises, three of them hand movements and the other two standing and sitting meditation. The founder's writings teach three core principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.
Lu, 33, became involved in Falun Gong a year ago after hearing about it from an acquaintance. After practicing its techniques, he felt more energetic and more patient. He was better able to control his hot temper, Lu said. Now, he tries to practice the techniques for half an hour a few mornings a week.
The Chinese government initially supported Falun Gong, but changed its views after 10,000 practitioners staged a peaceful sit-in [peaceful appeal, not sit-in] in Beijing in April 1999. The Communist Party leadership was alarmed at how organized the movement was, Lu said.
Lu said the Chinese government's denouncement of Falun Gong amounts to propaganda. The crackdown is one of the reasons he and other practitioners are giving frequent workshops about Falun Gong around the state.
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"We want to let the world know it's not right to persecute people for meditation," he said.
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