Li Hongzhi
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Li Hongzhi (李洪志) (born either July 7, 1952 or May 13, 1951) is the founder of Falun Gong. He resides in Brooklyn, New York. He was born in Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, China. Li's real birthdate is disputed; while he has said that he was born on May 13, 1951, authorities state that he was actually born on July 7, 1952, and that he lied about his birthdate so that it would be the same as Buddhism's founder Sakyamuni. It was allerged from Li that he has supernatural powers since primary, school, where he allergedly entered his classroom through glass to recover his lost homework.
Falun Gong was introduced to the public by Li Hongzhi on May 13, 1992, at the Fifth Middle School, Changchun, China. In 1999, Li became wanted by the Chinese government after Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the Premier's residence, protesting media criticism of the group. As a result of such action, Falun Gong was outlawed in China, and many practitioners were sent to jail.
Li Hongzhi currently resides at a mansion in New York and lives in seclusion due to the Chinese persecution of Falun Gong. He owns a number of publishers, including Universe Publishing, printing mainly books on Falun Gong.
Recently, during an exclusive interview by the pro-Falun Gong newspaper Epoch Times[1] (http://www.theepochtimes.com), Li referred to the persecution of Falun Gong in China as the 'final battle between good and evil', and predicted that the Chinese Communist government will 'fall within six months'. When asked about the stability of China if this ever occured, Li replied that 'God will prevent any chaos from occuring'.
External links
Who is Li Hongzhi? BBC News story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1223317.stm)
Li Hongzhi interviewed by Time Magazine Asia (http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990510/interview1.html)
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