“We are more Chinese than you”

Abstract

Falun Gong is a grassroots movement in China that combines an exercise regimen with meditation and moral tenets. However, this group stirs much controversy in China. The Chinese government accuses Falun Gong of resembling a cult, whereas it is claiming itself as a spiritual movement. Since 1999, many practitioners have left China and continued their practices in overseas Chinese diasporas. This paper will examine the construction of Falun Gong identity and its ideological implications through the critical examination of three news articles selected from the Epoch Times, a newspaper affiliated with Falun Gong movement. The paper intends to find out how this group identifies itself in its struggle for legitimacy, and in its resistance against the official Chinese state ideology. Critical Discourse Analysis is employed and the analysis demonstrates that by portraying itself as a more authentic representative of Chinese culture. Being part of the US-China ideological confrontation and competition, Falun Gong successfully distinguishes itself from the CCP, both in the construction of identity and in its resistance and challenge to the official ideology of the Party and State.

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