Online Trolls Target Falun Gong on Persecution Anniversary, New Video Analyzes Why Beijing is Trying to Silence American Dancers

Dear Reader,

July 20, 2025, marked the 26th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal persecution of Falun Gong, a peaceful spiritual practice that once had tens of millions of followers across China. Since the crackdown began in 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have faced forced labor, imprisonment, torture, and even organ harvesting. As you are likely aware, the CCP has been escalating its efforts beyond China’s borders, increasingly relying on transnational repression tactics—including disinformation and lawfare campaigns—to silence and intimidate Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters overseas.

During this year’s anniversary commemorations, a new wave of violent threats and coordinated online attacks emerged. Between July 1 and 23, anonymous messages—often written in Chinese and sent under false or impersonated identities—threatened shootings, bombings, arson, and sexual violence against Shen Yun performers, Falun Gong adherents, and prominent U.S. figures, including President Donald Trump. On July 20, Gan Jing World, a video-sharing platform, was flooded with hateful messages during commemorative broadcasts, in a clear attempt to disrupt programming and suppress awareness of the ongoing persecution. These incidents reflect a disturbing dimension of the CCP’s transnational repression, aiming to export its campaign of fear and censorship onto U.S. soil and deter international support for Falun Gong.

Also in this issue:

• The Hill publishes an op-ed by a Shen Yun principal dancer, recounting her father’s death in custody in China for practicing Falun Gong and warning that the CCP’s repression extends globally.

• A 71‑year‑old Falun Gong practitioner from Shenyang, Liaoning, was persecuted to death in Jinzhou City Prison on July 4.

• An 80-year-old Falun Gong practitioner received a five-year sentence after being detained again in Jilin Province.

To wrap up, we’re sharing a new video published this week, which relays how and why the CCP is escalating its transnational repression activities targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun, while reflecting on the broader implications for Americans and our own democracy. We hope you will take a few minutes to watch it and help us spread the word.

FEATURE STORY

Gan Jing World’s statement (left). Hate comments were posted by fake accounts to the Oscar-nominated documentary Letter from Masanjia (right) (Ganjingworld.com/Edited by Faluninfo)

What’s new? 

Between July 1 and 23, a wave of violent threats and messages by impersonators targeted Falun Gong practitioners and supporters around the July 20 anniversary of the CCP’s persecution campaign in China. At least nine anonymous threats—sent via online forms to the Falun Dafa Information Center and other Falun Gong-related entities—called for arson, bombings, rape, and sniper attacks. Targets included Shen Yun performers, U.S. officials, journalists, and even President Trump. The messages, often written in Chinese and using false identities, included impersonations of the relatives of Falun Gong’s founder and Taiwanese leaders. A total of 157 death threats have been recorded globally since March 2024, most aimed at U.S. individuals and institutions. All the incidents have been reported to law enforcement and no acts of mass violence have occurred.

Also on July 20, as commemorative events were streamed online, a barrage of hate-filled messages flooded the Gan Jing World video-sharing platform. Many posts were from fake accounts suspected of ties to the CCP. The messages aimed to derail viewership and suppress awareness of the ongoing persecution, highlighting the CCP’s expanding digital tactics alongside real-world intimidation.

Why does it matter? 

The threats and cyberbullying appear to be part of a coordinated campaign to silence, intimidate, and potentially incite violence against Falun Gong and its supporters, amid rising CCP transnational repression. While no physical violence has occurred, the rhetoric has intensified to levels mirroring terrorism threats, suggesting an intent to provoke fear and disrupt advocacy efforts around the July 20 anniversary.

What else do you need to know?

Among other items targeted by the trolling attacks on the Gan Jing World platform was a special feature of films related to the persecution of Falun Gong and believers’ peaceful resistance, which included the Oscar-nominated documentary Letter from Masanjia. According to analysis conducted by the platform, “The suspected accounts were created in bulk between July 7 and July 14 using overseas email addresses and VPNs to mask their origin. Though comments were written in Traditional Chinese, technical analysis revealed the accounts were configured in simplified Chinese and routed through Taiwanese IPs—suggesting coordination from mainland China. Usernames were designed to appear Taiwanese, Southeast Asian, or Western, a tactic consistent with previous CCP-linked ‘Spamouflage’ operations aimed at spreading disinformation.”

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

Ellie Rao, principal dancer with Shen Yun Performing Arts (Shenyun.org)

In this powerful op-ed published in The Hill, Shen Yun principal dancer Ellie Rao recounts how the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong shattered her family and shaped her life. At just four years old, she witnessed her father’s violent arrest for practicing Falun Gong and later learned he died in custody from abuse.

Fleeing China with her mother, Rao found refuge in the United States and eventually joined Shen Yun to honor her father’s memory through dance. She warns that the CCP’s repression extends beyond China, citing threats and covert operations targeting Falun Gong practitioners on U.S. soil.

In her article, she reflects, “As we mark this anniversary, I want Americans to recognize what’s at stake. What happened to my father could only happen under a regime that sees human conscience as a threat. I often imagine what my father would say if he could see me now. I think he would be proud. Through dance, I share the values he died for. By telling our story, I honor the freedom he never enjoyed.”

Rao is one of dozens of Shen Yun performers whose families have been directly impacted by the CCP’s 26-yearlong—and still ongoing—persecution campaign.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

Mr. Zhao Jiyuan, a 71‑year‑old former construction worker from Shenyang, Liaoning, died in Jinzhou City Prison on July 4, while serving a seven-and-a-half‑year sentence handed down in late 2019 for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was arrested on July 10, 2019, and refused a reduced three‑year term offered if he admitted guilt; instead, he maintained his innocence and received the longer sentence.

Denied family visits for refusing to renounce his belief, Mr. Zhao developed serious medical conditions including two heart attacks in early 2025. On death, his body was found severely emaciated, with scars and bruising from the shackles he was forced into, and signs consistent with force‑feeding. His death brings the documented total of Falun Gong practitioners who have died due to persecution by the CCP to at least 5,232.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

Mr. Wang Jianying, an 81‑year‑old, retired government worker from Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, has been repeatedly targeted for practicing Falun Gong since the practice was banned in 1999. He endured multiple arrests—in 2001, 2004, 2015, and 2024—and lengthy periods of detention, losing his job for refusing to renounce his faith.

According to Bitter Winter, an online magazine based in Italy that focuses on religious liberty and human rights in China, in August 2024, both Wang and fellow practitioner Wang Yuying were arrested; Yuying later died in custody, and authorities provided her family with a small burial payment. Mr. Wang was released on bail in September 2024 but later received a five-year sentence via a home-based video trial in June 2025. On July 1, 2025, he was detained again and deemed physically fit for imprisonment, with release scheduled in May 2030. This case highlights the persistent CCP’s repression against elderly Falun Gong practitioners, as documented by the Falun Dafa Information Center in a research report published earlier this month.

Published on July 19, 2019, by The Diplomat, this feature marked the 20th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. The article compiles testimonies from survivors, activists, and observers—including scholars, lawyers, and torture victims—who recount life before the crackdown, the trauma that followed, and its lasting consequences. Many describe arrests, forced labor, and torture, while others reflect on how the persecution galvanized Falun Gong into a global human rights movement. From Beijing parks filled with peaceful meditators to stadiums packed with detained citizens, the shift was sudden and devastating. Yet the CCP’s repression backfired: Instead of erasing Falun Gong, it strengthened their resilience and global advocacy, making them one of the strongest civil society forces challenging China’s authoritarian rule even two decades later.

A world-class American dance company is under attack with bomb threats and media smears all traced back to the Chinese regime. In this video published by the Falun Dafa Information Center on July 30, executive director Levi Browde breaks down why Beijing is so desperate to silence Shen Yun Performing Arts, a classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners in New York, and what it reveals about the Chinese Community Party’s influence in the United States. Featuring news clips, leaked Chinese government documents, and even a photo of a convicted Chinese spy shaking hands with top CCP leader Xi Jinping, the 7-minute video offers a concise yet clear explanation of the regime’s transnational repression targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun, and its broader implications for all Americans.