After criticism of the qigong practices by academics and certain inner party elements began in 1999, Falun Gong practitioners initiated group appeals or letter writing to local party and government leadership to restrict what practitioners considered "unfair" media criticism.
On June 10, 1999 the government set up the "6-10 Office", an extra-constitutional organization in charge of the crackdown on "heterodox faiths", which included Falun Gong.