As the practice continues to grow within China, tensions emerge between Falun Gong and Chinese authorities. In 1996, Falun Gong withdraws from the China Qigong Scientific Research Society, and thereafter finds itself the subject of growing scrutiny and criticism in the state-run press. The practice becomes a subject of high-level debates within the government and Communist Party, with some ministries and government authorities expressing continued support for the practice, and others becoming increasingly wary of the group. This tension also played out in the media, as some outlets continued to laud the effects of Falun Gong, while others criticized it as pseudoscience.