111-783: [REDACTED] Look up fg in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. FG , fg , or Fg may refer to: Organizations [ edit ] Falun Gong , a Chinese organization Fine Gael , an Irish political party Fallschirmjäger , German paratroopers Finanzgericht , abbreviation for German Fiscal Courts FG (restaurant) , a Michelin-starred restaurant in Rotterdam, formerly Ivy Places [ edit ] French Guiana (FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code) Province of Foggia , Italy (vehicle registration code) Science and technology [ edit ] F g , abbreviation used in physics for
222-565: A West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern Netherlands. The resident population at this time was generally speaking Common Brittonic —the insular variety of Continental Celtic , which was influenced by the Roman occupation. This group of languages ( Welsh , Cornish , Cumbric ) cohabited alongside English into
333-667: A 1998 speech in Switzerland that the gods' "first target of annihilation would be homosexuals". Although gay, lesbian, and bisexual people may practice Falun Gong, founder Li stated that they must "give up the bad conduct" of all same-sex sexual activity. Falun Gong's cosmology includes the belief that different ethnicities each have a correspondence to their own heavens, and that individuals of mixed race lose some aspect of this connection. Falun Gong's teachings include belief in reincarnation and that one's soul (original spirit) always maintains single racial identity despite having
444-503: A French language radio station playing mostly house music The type of gunpowder used for large bore rifles and shotguns The final Gravity_(alcoholic_beverage) of an alcoholic beverage that has finished its fermentation Frank Gasparro , an engraver of the United States Mint See also [ edit ] Functional grammar (disambiguation) , grammar models and theories for natural languages Topics referred to by
555-607: A body of mixed race. Investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann noted that interracial marriage is common in the Falun Gong community. Li Hongzhi authored the first book of Falun Gong teachings in April 1993; titled China Falun Gong , or simply Falun Gong , it is an introductory text that discusses qigong , Falun Gong's relationship to Buddhism, the principles of cultivation practice, and the improvement of moral character ( xinxing ). The book also provides illustrations and explanations of
666-549: A century as Received Pronunciation (RP). However, due to language evolution and changing social trends, some linguists argue that RP is losing prestige or has been replaced by another accent, one that the linguist Geoff Lindsey for instance calls Standard Southern British English. Others suggest that more regionally-oriented standard accents are emerging in England. Even in Scotland and Northern Ireland, RP exerts little influence in
777-446: A combination of moral cultivation, meditation and exercises. These include—but are not limited to— precognition , clairaudience , telepathy , and divine sight (via the opening of the third eye or celestial eye). However, Falun Gong stresses that these powers can be developed only as a result of moral practice, and should not be pursued or casually displayed. According to David Ownby, Falun Gong teaches that "pride in one's abilities, or
888-533: A feature of Chinese life for at least 2,500 years." Qigong practices can also be understood as a part of a broader tradition of "cultivation practice". In the West, Falun Gong is frequently classified as a religion on the basis of its theological and moral teachings, its concerns with spiritual cultivation and transformation, and its extensive body of scripture. Falun Gong practitioners themselves have sometimes disavowed this classification, however. This rejection reflects
999-535: A few things." The elevation of one's moral character is achieved, on the one hand, by aligning one's life with truth, compassion, and tolerance; and on the other, by abandoning desires and "negative thoughts and behaviors, such as greed, profit, lust, desire, killing, fighting, theft, robbery, deception, jealousy, etc." Among the central concepts found in the teachings of Falun Gong is the existence of 'Virtue' ( Chinese : 德 ; pinyin : Dé ) and 'Karma' ( Chinese : 業 ; pinyin : Yè ). The former
1110-417: A free home computer flight simulator Sport [ edit ] Field goal , a method of scoring in several sports Forrest Griffin , a UFC fighter FG, an abbreviation in the game of contract bridge for "forcing to game"; see Glossary of contract bridge terms#gameforce Other uses [ edit ] FG 42 , a Mauser automatic rifle Goodyear FG Corsair , a fighter aircraft Radio FG ,
1221-501: A greater movement, normally [əʊ], [əʉ] or [əɨ]. Dropping a morphological grammatical number , in collective nouns , is stronger in British English than North American English. This is to treat them as plural when once grammatically singular, a perceived natural number prevails, especially when applying to institutional nouns and groups of people. The noun 'police', for example, undergoes this treatment: Police are investigating
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#17328515962901332-406: A lesser class or social status and often discounted or considered of a low intelligence. Another contribution to the standardisation of British English was the introduction of the printing press to England in the mid-15th century. In doing so, William Caxton enabled a common language and spelling to be dispersed among the entirety of England at a much faster rate. Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of
1443-522: A moderate-budget adversary". After conservative documentary filmmaker Michael Pack was appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media during the Trump administration in 2020, Pack tied up $ 19 million in federal funds from other projects for the Ultrasurf project. Numerous other projects, including other secure communication projects, lost funding during this period. Ultrasoft eventually received $ 249,000 of
1554-412: A new religious movement, adherents may reject this term. Yuezhi Zhao describes Falun Gong as "a multifaceted and totalizing movement that means different things to different people, ranging from a set of physical exercises and a praxis of transformation to a moral philosophy and a new knowledge system." In the cultural context of China, Falun Gong is generally described either as a system of qigong, or
1665-557: A politically far-right media entity, and it has received significant attention in the United States for promoting conspiracy theories, such as QAnon and anti-vaccine misinformation, and producing advertisements for former U.S. President Donald Trump . It has also drawn attention in Europe for promoting far-right politicians, primarily in France and Germany . Falun Gong emerged from
1776-457: A practitioner of Falun Gong must "not hit back when attacked, not talk back when insulted." In addition, they must "abandon negative thoughts and behaviors", such as greed, deception, jealousy, etc. The teachings contain injunctions against smoking and the consumption of alcohol, as these are considered addictions that are detrimental to health and mental clarity. Practitioners of Falun Gong are forbidden to kill living things—including animals for
1887-648: A process called T-glottalisation . National media, being based in London, have seen the glottal stop spreading more widely than it once was in word endings, not being heard as "no [ʔ] " and bottle of water being heard as "bo [ʔ] le of wa [ʔ] er". It is still stigmatised when used at the beginning and central positions, such as later , while often has all but regained /t/ . Other consonants subject to this usage in Cockney English are p , as in pa [ʔ] er and k as in ba [ʔ] er. In most areas of England and Wales, outside
1998-511: A regional accent or dialect. However, about 2% of Britons speak with an accent called Received Pronunciation (also called "the King's English", "Oxford English" and " BBC English" ), that is essentially region-less. It derives from a mixture of the Midlands and Southern dialects spoken in London in the early modern period. It is frequently used as a model for teaching English to foreign learners. In
2109-478: A tactic for evading deeper inquiry, and followers have been instructed by Li to lie about the practice. Together these principles are regarded as the fundamental nature of the cosmos, the criteria for differentiating right from wrong, and are held to be the highest manifestations of the Tao . Adherence to and cultivation of these virtues is regarded as a fundamental part of Falun Gong practice. In Zhuan Falun ( 转法轮 ),
2220-675: A time of cosmic transition and renewal. The process of Fa rectification is necessitated by the moral decline and degeneration of life in the universe, and in the post-1999 context, the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese government has come to be viewed as a tangible symptom of this moral decay. Through the process of the Fa rectification, life will be reordered according to the moral and spiritual quality of each, with good people being saved and ascending to higher spiritual planes, and bad ones being eliminated or cast down. In this paradigm, Li assumes
2331-451: A type of "cultivation practice" ( xiulian ), a process by which an individual seeks spiritual perfection, often through both physical and moral conditioning. Varieties of cultivation practice are found throughout Chinese history, spanning Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian traditions. Benjamin Penny writes "the best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been
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#17328515962902442-407: A wall or into a human body". In addition to its moral philosophy, Falun Gong consists of four standing exercises and one sitting meditation. The exercises are regarded as secondary to moral elevation, though are still an essential component of Falun Gong cultivation practice. The first exercises, called "Buddha Stretching a Thousand Arms", are intended to facilitate the free flow of energy through
2553-429: Is "a God-like figure who can levitate, walk through walls and see into the future. His ultra-conservative and controversial teachings include a rejection of modern science, art and medicine, and a denunciation of homosexuality, feminism and general worldliness." Hongzhi instructs his followers to downplay his controversial teachings when speaking to outsiders. According to the Falun Gong, the Falun Gong aspires to enable
2664-572: Is a new religious movement . Falun Gong was founded by its leader Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s. Falun Gong has its global headquarters in Dragon Springs , a 173-hectare (427-acre) compound in Deerpark, New York , United States, near the residence of Li Hongzhi. Led by Li Hongzhi, who is viewed by adherents as a deity-like figure, Falun Gong practitioners operate a variety of organizations in
2775-479: Is a being who has come to help humankind from the destruction it could face as the result of rampant evil. When asked if he was a human being, Li replied "You can think of me as a human being." According to the founder Li in his book, Zhuan Falun , he claims to have cultivated supernatural powers starting at age eight. According to Radio France International , Zhuan Falun also promises to teach practitioners to cultivate supernatural powers such as "see[ing] through
2886-664: Is a meditation intended to be maintained as long as possible. Falun Gong exercises can be practiced individually or in group settings, and can be performed for varying lengths of time in accordance with the needs and abilities of the individual practitioner. Porter writes that practitioners of Falun Gong are encouraged to read Falun Gong books and practice its exercises on a regular basis, preferably daily. Falun Gong exercises are practiced in group settings in parks, university campuses, and other public spaces in over 70 countries worldwide, and are taught for free by volunteers. In addition to five exercises, in 2001 another meditation activity
2997-596: Is achieved through the elimination of negative karma and the accumulation of virtue. Practitioners believe that through a process of moral cultivation, one can achieve Tao and obtain special powers and a level of divinity. Falun Gong's teachings posit that human beings are originally and innately good—even divine—but that they descended into a realm of delusion and suffering after developing selfishness and accruing karma. The practice holds that reincarnation exists and that different people's reincarnation processes are overseen by different gods. To re-ascend and return to
3108-725: Is also due to London-centric influences. Examples of R-dropping are car and sugar , where the R is not pronounced. British dialects differ on the extent of diphthongisation of long vowels, with southern varieties extensively turning them into diphthongs, and with northern dialects normally preserving many of them. As a comparison, North American varieties could be said to be in-between. Long vowels /iː/ and /uː/ are usually preserved, and in several areas also /oː/ and /eː/, as in go and say (unlike other varieties of English, that change them to [oʊ] and [eɪ] respectively). Some areas go as far as not diphthongising medieval /iː/ and /uː/, that give rise to modern /aɪ/ and /aʊ/; that is, for example, in
3219-428: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Falun Gong Falun Gong ( UK : / ˌ f ɑː l ʊ n ˈ ɡ ɒ ŋ , ˌ f æ l -, - ˈ ɡ ʊ ŋ / FAH -lun GONG , FAL -, - GUUNG , US : /- ˈ ɡ ɔː ŋ / - GAWNG ) or Falun Dafa ( / ˈ d ɑː f ə / DAH -fə ; lit. ' Dharma Wheel Practice ' )
3330-410: Is generated through doing good deeds and suffering, while the latter is accumulated through doing wrong deeds. A person's ratio of karma to virtue is said to determine their fortunes in this life or the next. While virtue engenders good fortune and enables spiritual transformation, an accumulation of karma results in suffering, illness, and alienation from the nature of the universe. Spiritual elevation
3441-769: Is included in style guides issued by various publishers including The Times newspaper, the Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press . The Oxford University Press guidelines were originally drafted as a single broadsheet page by Horace Henry Hart, and were at the time (1893) the first guide of their type in English; they were gradually expanded and eventually published, first as Hart's Rules , and in 2002 as part of The Oxford Manual of Style . Comparable in authority and stature to The Chicago Manual of Style for published American English ,
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3552-410: Is made for Buddhist Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunīs , who are permitted to continue a monastic lifestyle while practicing Falun Gong. As part of its emphasis on ethical behavior, Falun Gong's teachings prescribe a strict personal morality for practitioners. They are expected to do good deeds, and conduct themselves with patience and forbearance when encountering difficulties. For instance, Li stipulates that
3663-552: Is no system of membership within the practice and no rituals of worship. Falun Gong operates through a global, networked, and largely virtual online community. In particular, electronic communications, email lists and a collection of websites are the primary means of coordinating activities and disseminating Li Hongzhi's teachings. Outside Mainland China, a network of volunteer 'contact persons', regional Falun Dafa Associations and university clubs exist in approximately 80 countries. Li Hongzhi's teachings are principally spread through
3774-609: Is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England , or, more broadly, to the collective dialects of English throughout the British Isles taken as a single umbrella variety, for instance additionally incorporating Scottish English , Welsh English , and Northern Irish English . Tom McArthur in
3885-530: The Chambers Dictionary , and the Collins Dictionary record actual usage rather than attempting to prescribe it. In addition, vocabulary and usage change with time; words are freely borrowed from other languages and other varieties of English, and neologisms are frequent. For historical reasons dating back to the rise of London in the ninth century, the form of language spoken in London and
3996-637: The East Midlands became standard English within the Court, and ultimately became the basis for generally accepted use in the law, government, literature and education in Britain. The standardisation of British English is thought to be from both dialect levelling and a thought of social superiority. Speaking in the Standard dialect created class distinctions; those who did not speak the standard English would be considered of
4107-517: The January 6 insurrection was a " false flag operation". During his eight months in office, Pack regularly appeared in the Epoch Times , where he also discussed Ultrasurf. As of 2020, Pack, along with other USAGM officials he did not fire during his time there, faced a criminal inquiry in response to whistleblower allegations that the "concerted effort to divert funds to the Falun Gong software Ultrasurf
4218-631: The Oxford Guide to World English acknowledges that British English shares "all the ambiguities and tensions [with] the word 'British' and as a result can be used and interpreted in two ways, more broadly or more narrowly, within a range of blurring and ambiguity". Variations exist in formal (both written and spoken) English in the United Kingdom. For example, the adjective wee is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland, north-east England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally Yorkshire , whereas
4329-484: The Royal Spanish Academy with Spanish. Standard British English differs notably in certain vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation features from standard American English and certain other standard English varieties around the world. British and American spelling also differ in minor ways. The accent, or pronunciation system, of standard British English, based in southeastern England, has been known for over
4440-486: The Scots language or Scottish Gaelic ). Each group includes a range of dialects, some markedly different from others. The various British dialects also differ in the words that they have borrowed from other languages. Around the middle of the 15th century, there were points where within the 5 major dialects there were almost 500 ways to spell the word though . Following its last major survey of English Dialects (1949–1950),
4551-492: The Time interview, Li believed that aliens were attempting to replace humans through a cloning process, in which human bodies would be cloned with no soul, so that the aliens can replace the soul and inhabit human bodies (which to him are perfect). Scholars describe Falun Gong as a new religious movement . The organization is regularly featured in handbooks describing new religious movements. While commonly described by scholars as
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4662-560: The University of Leeds has started work on a new project. In May 2007 the Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded a grant to Leeds to study British regional dialects. The team are sifting through a large collection of examples of regional slang words and phrases turned up by the "Voices project" run by the BBC , in which they invited the public to send in examples of English still spoken throughout
4773-601: The West Country and other near-by counties of the UK, the consonant R is not pronounced if not followed by a vowel, lengthening the preceding vowel instead. This phenomenon is known as non-rhoticity . In these same areas, a tendency exists to insert an R between a word ending in a vowel and a next word beginning with a vowel. This is called the intrusive R . It could be understood as a merger, in that words that once ended in an R and words that did not are no longer treated differently. This
4884-553: The qigong movement in China in 1992, combining meditation, qigong exercises, and moral teachings rooted in Buddhist and Taoist traditions. While supported by some government agencies, Falun Gong's rapid growth and independence from state control led several top officials to perceive it as a threat, resulting in periodic acts of harassment in the late 1990s. On April 25, 1999, over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered peacefully outside
4995-399: The "original, true self", Falun Gong practitioners are supposed to assimilate themselves to the qualities of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, let go of "attachments and desires" and suffer to repay karma. Traditional Chinese cultural thought and opposition to modernity are two focuses of Li Hongzhi's teachings. Falun Gong echoes traditional Chinese beliefs that humans are connected to
5106-566: The 1990s repeated claims that aliens were responsible for scientific inventions through the manipulation of scientists. For example, in a 1999 interview with Time , Li attributed the invention of computers and airplanes to extraterrestrials, as well as war and violence. However, his position on aliens seemed fairly inconsistent to observers Graeme Lang and Lu Yunfeng. Li purported that in general extraterrestrials disguise themselves as human in order to corrupt and manipulate humanity, but some practitioners only believe that to be metaphorical. In
5217-476: The 2000s, the software has drawn criticism "for its content filtering (which blocks pornography) and its ability to surveil user traffic, which is often impossible by design in competing tools". Although it receives public funding, both its creators and owners have rejected attempts at allowing outside parties to review its effectiveness and utility. A 2020 audit by the U.S. State Department concluded that "censoring Ultrasurf nation-wide would have been trivial for
5328-585: The 2009 election, its servers were overwhelmed by Iranian Internet users. In 2010, the US State Department under the Obama administration offered a $ 1.5 million grant to the Global Internet Freedom Consortium founded by Falun Gong adherents that developed Ultrasurf and Freegate, drawing opposition from the Chinese government. A 2011 Center for a New American Security report recognized
5439-603: The 21st century. RP, while long established as the standard English accent around the globe due to the spread of the British Empire , is distinct from the standard English pronunciation in some parts of the world; most prominently, RP notably contrasts with standard North American accents. In the 21st century, dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary , the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ,
5550-465: The Buddhist doctrine, and is the title of Falun Gong's main text. Despite the invocation of Buddhist language and symbols, the law wheel as understood in Falun Gong has distinct connotations, and is held to represent the universe. It is conceptualized by an emblem consisting of one large and four small (counter-clockwise) swastika symbols, representing the Buddha, and four small Taiji (yin-yang) symbols of
5661-456: The Daoist tradition. Li situates his teaching of Falun Gong amidst the "Dharma-ending period" ( Mo Fa , 末法 ), described in Buddhist scriptures as an age of moral decline when the teachings of Buddhism would need to be rectified. The current era is described in Falun Gong's teachings as the " Fa rectification" period ( zhengfa , which might also be translated as "to correct the dharma"),
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#17328515962905772-816: The English Language (1755) was a large step in the English-language spelling reform , where the purification of language focused on standardising both speech and spelling. By the early 20th century, British authors had produced numerous books intended as guides to English grammar and usage, a few of which achieved sufficient acclaim to have remained in print for long periods and to have been reissued in new editions after some decades. These include, most notably of all, Fowler's Modern English Usage and The Complete Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers . Detailed guidance on many aspects of writing British English for publication
5883-623: The European Radical right . The exact financial and structural connections between Falun Gong, Shen Yun and The Epoch Times remains unclear. According to NBC News : The Epoch Media Group, along with Shen Yun, a dance troupe known for its ubiquitous advertising and unsettling performances, make up the outreach effort of Falun Gong, a relatively new spiritual practice that combines ancient Chinese meditative exercises, mysticism and often ultraconservative cultural worldviews. Falun Gong's founder has referred to Epoch Media Group as "our media", and
5994-644: The Germanic schwein ) is the animal in the field bred by the occupied Anglo-Saxons and pork (like the French porc ) is the animal at the table eaten by the occupying Normans. Another example is the Anglo-Saxon cu meaning cow, and the French bœuf meaning beef. Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English;
6105-462: The Internet. In most mid- to large-sized cities, Falun Gong practitioners organize regular group meditation or study sessions in which they practice Falun Gong exercises and read Li Hongzhi's writings. The exercise and meditation sessions are described as informal groups of practitioners who gather in public parks—usually in the morning—for one to two hours. Group study sessions typically take place in
6216-891: The Oxford Manual is a fairly exhaustive standard for published British English that writers can turn to in the absence of specific guidance from their publishing house. British English is the basis of, and very similar to, Commonwealth English . Commonwealth English is English as spoken and written in the Commonwealth countries , though often with some local variation. This includes English spoken in Australia , Malta , New Zealand , Nigeria , and South Africa . It also includes South Asian English used in South Asia, in English varieties in Southeast Asia , and in parts of Africa. Canadian English
6327-573: The Rachlin media group. Lewis reports that the Rachlin media group is the Falun Gong's de facto PR firm operated by Gail Rachlin, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Centre. Lewis says that Amnesty International does not independently verify its reports from Falun Gong groups, accepting material directly from Falun Gong organizations as fact. According to Lewis, "[Falun Gong] has thus been able to influence other media via its presence on
6438-701: The South East, there are significantly different accents; the Cockney accent spoken by some East Londoners is strikingly different from Received Pronunciation (RP). Cockney rhyming slang can be (and was initially intended to be) difficult for outsiders to understand, although the extent of its use is often somewhat exaggerated. Londoners speak with a mixture of accents, depending on ethnicity, neighbourhood, class, age, upbringing, and sundry other factors. Estuary English has been gaining prominence in recent decades: it has some features of RP and some of Cockney. Immigrants to
6549-537: The UK in recent decades have brought many more languages to the country and particularly to London. Surveys started in 1979 by the Inner London Education Authority discovered over 125 languages being spoken domestically by the families of the inner city's schoolchildren. Notably Multicultural London English , a sociolect that emerged in the late 20th century spoken mainly by young, working-class people in multicultural parts of London . Since
6660-564: The United Kingdom , as well as within the countries themselves. The major divisions are normally classified as English English (or English as spoken in England (which is itself broadly grouped into Southern English , West Country , East and West Midlands English and Northern English ), Northern Irish English (in Northern Ireland), Welsh English (not to be confused with the Welsh language ), and Scottish English (not to be confused with
6771-642: The United States and elsewhere, including the dance troupe Shen Yun . They are known for their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), espousing anti-evolutionary views, opposition to homosexuality and feminism , and rejection of modern medicine , among other views described as " ultra-conservative ". The Falun Gong also operates the Epoch Media Group, which is known for its subsidiaries, New Tang Dynasty Television and The Epoch Times newspaper. The latter has been broadly noted as
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#17328515962906882-458: The West Scottish accent. Phonological features characteristic of British English revolve around the pronunciation of the letter R, as well as the dental plosive T and some diphthongs specific to this dialect. Once regarded as a Cockney feature, in a number of forms of spoken British English, /t/ has become commonly realised as a glottal stop [ʔ] when it is in the intervocalic position, in
6993-410: The adjective little is predominant elsewhere. Nevertheless, there is a meaningful degree of uniformity in written English within the United Kingdom, and this could be described by the term British English . The forms of spoken English, however, vary considerably more than in most other areas of the world where English is spoken and so a uniform concept of British English is more difficult to apply to
7104-401: The allotted funds. Once receiving funding, only "four people abroad used it to access Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, a key purpose for its subsidy" during December 2020 and January 2021. Two days before U.S. President Joe Biden 's 2021 inauguration, Pack appointed a columnist from the Epoch Times to the board of directors for the networks his agency oversaw. This columnist had claimed
7215-481: The award of the grant in 2007, Leeds University stated: that they were "very pleased"—and indeed, "well chuffed"—at receiving their generous grant. He could, of course, have been "bostin" if he had come from the Black Country , or if he was a Scouser he would have been well "made up" over so many spondoolicks, because as a Geordie might say, £460,000 is a "canny load of chink". Most people in Britain speak with
7326-470: The body and open up the meridians. The second exercise, "Falun Standing Stance", involves holding four static poses—each of which resembles holding a wheel—for an extended period. The objective of this exercise is to "enhances wisdom, increases strength, raises a person's level, and strengthens divine powers". The third, "Penetrating the Cosmic Extremes", involves three sets of movements, which aim to enable
7437-463: The central government compound in Beijing, seeking official recognition of the right to practice their faith without interference. In July 1999, the government of China implemented a ban on Falun Gong, categorizing it as an "illegal organization". Mass arrests, widespread torture and abuses followed. In 2008, U.S. government reports cited estimates that as much as half of China's labor camp population
7548-594: The community. In 1993, the Beijing-based Falun Dafa Research Society was accepted as a branch of the state-run China Qigong Research Society (CQRS), which oversaw the administration of the country's various qigong schools, and sponsored activities and seminars. As per the requirements of the CQRS, Falun Gong was organized into a nationwide network of assistance centers, "main stations", "branches", "guidance stations", and local practice sites, mirroring
7659-446: The confines of monogamous , heterosexual marriage are regarded as immoral. Li Hongzhi taught that homosexuality makes one "unworthy of being human", creates bad karma, and is comparable to organized crime . He also taught that "disgusting homosexuality shows the dirty abnormal psychology of the gay who has lost his ability of reasoning", and that homosexuality is a "filthy, deviant state of mind". Li additionally stated in
7770-497: The context of a "Buddhist notion of the cycle of the Dharma or the Buddhist law". Richard Gunde wrote that, unlike apocalyptic groups in the West , Falun Gong does not fixate on death or the end of the world, and instead "has a simple, innocuous ethical message". Li Hongzhi does not discuss a "time of reckoning", and has rejected predictions of an impending apocalypse in his teachings. Li in
7881-613: The country. The BBC Voices project also collected hundreds of news articles about how the British speak English from swearing through to items on language schools. This information will also be collated and analysed by Johnson's team both for content and for where it was reported. "Perhaps the most remarkable finding in the Voices study is that the English language is as diverse as ever, despite our increased mobility and constant exposure to other accents and dialects through TV and radio". When discussing
7992-493: The desire to show off, are marks of dangerous attachments", and Li warns his followers not to be distracted by the pursuit of such powers. Falun Gong differentiates itself from Buddhist monastic traditions in that it places great importance on participation in the secular world. Falun Gong practitioners are required to maintain regular jobs and family lives, to observe the laws of their respective governments, and are instructed not to distance themselves from society. An exception
8103-497: The emptiness of material pursuits; although practitioners of Falun Gong are not encouraged to leave their jobs or eschew money, they are expected to give up the psychological attachments to these things. Falun Gong doctrine counsels against participation in political or social issues. Excessive interest in politics is viewed as an attachment to worldly power and influence, and Falun Gong aims for transcendence of such pursuits. According to Hu Ping, "Falun Gong deals only with purifying
8214-489: The evenings in private residences or university or high school classrooms, and are described by David Ownby as "the closest thing to a regular 'congregational experience ' " that Falun Gong offers. Individuals who are too busy, isolated, or who simply prefer solitude may elect to practice privately. When there are expenses to be covered (such as for the rental of facilities for large-scale conferences), costs are borne by self-nominated and relatively affluent individual members of
8325-826: The exercises and meditation. The main body of teachings is articulated in the book Zhuan Falun , published in Chinese in January 1995. The book is divided into nine "lectures", and was based on edited transcriptions of the talks Li gave throughout China in the preceding three years. Falun Gong texts have since been translated into an additional 40 languages. In addition to these central texts, Li has published several books, lectures, articles and books of poetry, which are made available on Falun Gong websites. The Falun Gong teachings use numerous untranslated Chinese religious and philosophical terms, and make frequent allusion to characters and incidents in Chinese folk literature and concepts drawn from Chinese popular religion . This, coupled with
8436-416: The exercises, and the refinement of one's xinxing (moral character, temperament). In Falun Gong's central text, Li states that xinxing "includes virtue (which is a type of matter), it includes forbearance, it includes awakening to things, it includes giving up things—giving up all the desires and all the attachments that are found in an ordinary person—and you also have to endure hardship, to name just
8547-455: The expulsion of bad energy (e.g., pathogenic or black qi ) and the absorption of good energy into the body. Through practice of this exercise, the practitioner aspires to cleanse and purify the body. The fourth exercise, "Falun Cosmic Orbit", seeks to circulate energy freely throughout the body. Unlike the first through fourth exercises, the fifth exercise is performed in the seated lotus position . Called "Reinforcing Supernatural Powers", it
8658-416: The force exerted by gravitation fg (Unix) , a computer command to resume a suspended process Femtogram (fg), a unit of mass Fiberglass , a material that includes fine fibers of glass Finished good , in manufacturing and inventory], goods that have completed the manufacturing process but have not yet been sold or distributed Fixed-gear , a bicycle without the ability to coast FlightGear ,
8769-408: The foundational text published in 1995, Li Hongzhi writes "It doesn't matter how mankind's moral standard changes [...] The nature of the cosmos doesn't change, and it is the only standard for determining who's good and who's bad. So to be a cultivator you have to take the nature of the cosmos as your guide for improving yourself." Practice of Falun Gong consists of two features: performance of
8880-428: The government's 1999 ban on Falun Gong, the government [of China] estimated there were 70 million adherents. Falun Gong sources estimate that tens of millions continue to practice privately, and Freedom House estimates there are seven to 20 million practitioners." Falun Gong is entirely based around the teachings of its autocratic founder and leader: China-born Li Hongzhi. According to NBC News , to his followers, Li
8991-446: The group's practice heavily informs The Epoch Times ' coverage, according to former employees who spoke with NBC News. The Epoch Times , digital production company NTD and the heavily advertised dance troupe Shen Yun make up the nonprofit network that Li calls "our media". Financial documents paint a complicated picture of more than a dozen technically separate organizations that appear to share missions, money and executives. Though
9102-453: The idea of two different morphemes, one that causes the double negation, and one that is used for the point or the verb. Standard English in the United Kingdom, as in other English-speaking nations, is widely enforced in schools and by social norms for formal contexts but not by any singular authority; for instance, there is no institution equivalent to the Académie française with French or
9213-464: The individual through exercise, and does not touch on social or national concerns. It has not suggested or even intimated a model for social change. Many religions [...] pursue social reform to some extent [...] but there is no such tendency evident in Falun Gong." Sexual desire and lust are treated as attachments to be discarded, though Falun Gong students are still generally expected to marry and have families. All sexual relations outside
9324-511: The last southern Midlands accent to use the broad "a" in words like bath or grass (i.e. barth or grarss ). Conversely crass or plastic use a slender "a". A few miles northwest in Leicestershire the slender "a" becomes more widespread generally. In the town of Corby , five miles (8 km) north, one can find Corbyite which, unlike the Kettering accent, is largely influenced by
9435-508: The later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the Romance branch of the European languages. This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary . Dialects and accents vary amongst the four countries of
9546-563: The literal translation style of the texts, which imitate the colloquial style of Li's speeches, can make Falun Gong scriptures difficult to approach for Westerners. The main symbol of the practice is the Falun ( Dharma wheel, or Dharmacakra in Sanskrit ). In Buddhism, the Dharmacakra represents the completeness of the doctrine. To "turn the wheel of dharma" ( Zhuan Falun ) means to preach
9657-452: The mass internal migration to Northamptonshire in the 1940s and given its position between several major accent regions, it has become a source of various accent developments. In Northampton the older accent has been influenced by overspill Londoners. There is an accent known locally as the Kettering accent, which is a transitional accent between the East Midlands and East Anglian . It is
9768-458: The modern period, but due to their remoteness from the Germanic languages , influence on English was notably limited . However, the degree of influence remains debated, and it has recently been argued that its grammatical influence accounts for the substantial innovations noted between English and the other West Germanic languages. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting
9879-532: The need for the US government to fund high-performing technologies like Ultrasurf and Freegate, despite the stress it might cause on the U.S.-China relationship, but recommended the US government diversify the technologies it funds. In recent years, Ultrasurf has been a major point of contention in large part because it is not open source, meaning that it cannot be reviewed by outside engineers for vulnerabilities and back doors. Additionally, as reported by The Verge , since
9990-463: The new religious movement and its teachings. In the case of The Epoch Times , they also promote conspiracy theories such as QAnon and anti-vaccine misinformation and far-right politics in both Europe and the United States. Around the time of the 2016 United States presidential election , The Epoch Times began running articles supportive of Donald Trump and critical of his opponents. Falun Gong extensions have also been active in promoting
10101-524: The only tool to display okay speed for both image heavy and simple, text oriented sites." A Wired article described Ultrasurf as "one of the most important free-speech tools on the Internet, used by millions from China to Saudi Arabia." Beyond China, Freegate gained popularity among Iranian protesters soon after its Farsi version was introduced in July 2008. During the Green Movement protests surrounding
10212-498: The point where "Falun Gong followers and/or sympathizers de facto control the relevant pages on Misplaced Pages", and how this is particularly important for Falun Gong as an organization due to the search engine optimization results of these entries, and how the entries can influence other media entities. Lewis notes also how this fits in as part of Falun Gong's general media strategy, such as Falun Gong media like The Epoch Times , New Tang Dynasty, Sound of Hope Radio, and, as Lewis discusses,
10323-426: The practice has often been described as a form of Chinese religion. The performance arts group Shen Yun and the media organization The Epoch Times are the major outreach organizations of Falun Gong. Both promote the spiritual and political teachings of Falun Gong. They and a variety of other organizations such as New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD) operate as extensions of Falun Gong. These extensions promote
10434-411: The practitioner to ascend spiritually through moral rectitude and the practice of a set of exercises and meditation. The three stated tenets of the belief are truthfulness ( Chinese : 真 ; pinyin : Zhēn ), compassion ( Chinese : 善 ; pinyin : Shàn ), and forbearance ( Chinese : 忍 ; pinyin : Rěn ). These principles have been repeated by Falun Gong members to outsiders as
10545-405: The purpose of obtaining food—though they are not required to adopt a vegetarian diet. In addition to these things, practitioners of Falun Gong must abandon a variety of worldly attachments and desires. In the course of cultivation practice, the student of Falun Gong aims to relinquish the pursuit of fame, monetary gain, sentimentality, and other entanglements. Li's teachings repeatedly emphasize
10656-510: The relatively narrow definition of "religion" in contemporary China. According to David Ownby, religion in China has been defined since 1912 to refer to "world-historical faiths" that have "well-developed institutions, clergy , and textual traditions"—namely, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam , Protestantism , and Catholicism . Moreover, if Falun Gong had described itself as a religion in China, it likely would have invited immediate suppression. These historical and cultural circumstances notwithstanding,
10767-565: The role of rectifying the Dharma by disseminating through his moral teachings. Some scholars, such as Maria Hsia Chang and Susan Palmer, have described Li's rhetoric about the " Fa rectification" and providing salvation "in the final period of the Last Havoc" as apocalyptic . However, Benjamin Penny , a professor of Chinese history at the Australian National University , argues that Li's teachings are better understood in
10878-401: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title FG . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FG&oldid=1248231283 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10989-505: The source of their revenue is unclear, the most recent financial records from each organization paint a picture of an overall business thriving in the Trump era. According to scholar James R. Lewis writing in 2018, Falun Gong adherents have attempted to control English Misplaced Pages articles covering the group and articles related to it. Lewis highlights Falun Gong's extensive internet presence, and how editors who have to date contributed to English Misplaced Pages entries associated with Falun Gong to
11100-401: The spoken language. Globally, countries that are former British colonies or members of the Commonwealth tend to follow British English, as is the case for English used by European Union institutions. In China, both British English and American English are taught. The UK government actively teaches and promotes English around the world and operates in over 200 countries . English is
11211-496: The structure of the qigong society or even of the CCP itself. Falun Gong assistants were self-selecting volunteers who taught the exercises, organized events, and disseminated new writings from Li Hongzhi. The Falun Dafa Research Society provided advice to students on meditation techniques, translation services, and coordination for the practice nationwide. British English British English (abbreviations: BrE , en-GB , and BE )
11322-587: The theft of work tools worth £500 from a van at the Sprucefield park and ride car park in Lisburn. A football team can be treated likewise: Arsenal have lost just one of 20 home Premier League matches against Manchester City. This tendency can be observed in texts produced already in the 19th century. For example, Jane Austen , a British author, writes in Chapter 4 of Pride and Prejudice , published in 1813: All
11433-403: The traditional accent of Newcastle upon Tyne , 'out' will sound as 'oot', and in parts of Scotland and North-West England, 'my' will be pronounced as 'me'. Long vowels /iː/ and /uː/ are diphthongised to [ɪi] and [ʊu] respectively (or, more technically, [ʏʉ], with a raised tongue), so that ee and oo in feed and food are pronounced with a movement. The diphthong [oʊ] is also pronounced with
11544-442: The universe through mind and body, and Li seeks to challenge "conventional mentalities", concerning the nature and genesis of the universe, time-space, and the human body. The practice draws on East Asian mysticism and traditional Chinese medicine, but claims to have the power to heal incurable illnesses. Falun Gong describes modern science as too limited, and views traditional Chinese research and practice as valid. Li says that he
11655-733: The varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon , eventually came to dominate. The original Old English was then influenced by two waves of invasion: the first was by speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family, who settled in parts of Britain in the eighth and ninth centuries; the second was the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman . These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it
11766-504: The web, through its direct press releases, and through its own media." In the early 2000s, Falun Gong adherents in the United States developed Ultrasurf and Freegate , freeware intended to circumvent Chinese government internet censorship. According to NPR: A Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society report on the circumvention landscape in 2007 found Ultrasurf's performance to be "the best of any tool tested in filtering countries,
11877-560: The world are good and agreeable in your eyes. However, in Chapter 16, the grammatical number is used. The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence. Some dialects of British English use negative concords, also known as double negatives . Rather than changing a word or using a positive, words like nobody, not, nothing, and never would be used in the same sentence. While this does not occur in Standard English, it does occur in non-standard dialects. The double negation follows
11988-415: Was a criminal conspiracy". Spiritual authority is vested exclusively in the teachings of founder Li Hongzhi. Volunteer "assistants" or "contact persons" do not hold authority over other practitioners, regardless of how long they have practiced Falun Gong. Li stipulates that practitioners of Falun Gong cannot collect money or charge fees, conduct healings, or teach or interpret doctrine for others. There
12099-419: Was introduced called "sending righteous thoughts", which is intended to reduce persecution on the spiritual plane. Discussions of supernatural skills also feature prominently within the qigong movement, and the existence of these skills gained a level of mainstream acceptance in China's scientific community in the 1980s. Falun Gong's teachings hold that practitioners can acquire supernatural skills through
12210-412: Was made up of Falun Gong practitioners. In 2009, human rights groups estimated that at least 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners had died from persecution by that time. A 2022 United States Department of State report on religious freedom in China stated that "Falun Gong practitioners reported societal discrimination in employment, housing, and business opportunities". According to the same report: "Prior to
12321-422: Was never a truly mixed language in the strictest sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication). The more idiomatic, concrete and descriptive English is, the more it is from Anglo-Saxon origins. The more intellectual and abstract English is, the more it contains Latin and French influences, e.g. swine (like
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