In 1999 , after a big Falun Gong gathering in front of a Chinese government building , the Communist Party of China said : people can not practice Falun Gong , it is `` illegal '' . In July 1999 , the Chinese government , under the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) , banned Falun Gong and began a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign against the practice ; in October 1999 it declared Falun Gong a `` heretical organization . '' Human rights groups report that Falun Gong practitioners in China are subject to a wide range of human rights abuses .