 Falun Gong , a spiritual qigong discipline that once claimed tens of million adherents in China , was banned in July 1999 under the leadership of the Communist Party , and a campaign was launched to suppress the group . In an attempt to have Falun Gong adherents renounce their belief in the practice , they are subject to state @-@ sanctioned , systematic violence in custody , sometimes resulting in death . Some sources indicate hundreds of thousands may have been detained in reeducation @-@ through @-@ labor camps for practicing Falun Gong and / or resisting persecution . 
