December 2025 Transnational Repression Update

From mid-November through mid-December 2025, a sustained escalation of anonymous threats, impersonation schemes, and cross-border intimidation targeted Falun Gong, Shen Yun Performing Arts, supportive media organizations, and public officials. Incidents spanned Taiwan, Australia, and the United States, with perpetrators repeatedly exploiting online submission systems, falsified email accounts, and impersonated identities—including those of Taiwanese politicians, overseas democracy activists, Falun Gong practitioners, and senior staff of Falun Gong–related institutions.

• On Nov. 14, two identical threats were submitted through the National Police Agency’s online system in Taiwan, using impersonated identities linked to prominent overseas Chinese democracy activists. The messages falsely claimed to be from “members of Falun Dafa in Taiwan” and threatened to detonate bombs aboard flights departing Taiwan for the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, and France. Both submissions were traced to the same email address ([email protected]) and fit a broader pattern of attempts to fabricate terrorist intent linked to Falun Gong.

• On Nov. 21, impersonating a sitting Taiwanese legislator, a perpetrator submitted four LiveChat threats to Shen Yun’s Taiwan ticketing service, warning of lethal attacks against senior national and local officials if Shen Yun performed in Taiwan. The message stated:

“If Shen Yun comes to perform in Taiwan, Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim will be in danger. They may be killed by long-range assassination! Their vehicles could explode! The Presidential Office could catch fire! Every mayor will face consecutive threats! Every police chief will be involved in car accidents! Think twice!”

• On Nov. 29, through the National Police Agency’s online form, an actor impersonating Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and using a falsified Epoch Times email submitted a threat claiming remote-controlled bombs had been placed inside Taiwan Epoch Times’ Taipei office. The message demanded NT$18 million to prevent detonation.

• Eventbrite, a digital platform for marketing events, reported two severe threats targeting the Nov. 29 screening of State Organs at St. John the Evangelist Church—Campbelltown in south-west Sydney in Australia. The documentary State Organs, which has screened multiple times across Australia this year, sheds light on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) atrocity of harvesting organs from Uyghurs and practitioners of Falun Gong. On Nov. 23, an Eventbrite user submitted the following threat through the platform:

“A Bomb Has Been Placed In The Church If The Event Is Not Canceled By Tomorrow Night Cooperation With Falun Gong Is Not Terminated And A Statement Is Not Made Online The Bomb Will Be Detonated.”

The platform has notified local law enforcement directly, which triggered the local police conducted a search of the church grounds on Nov. 24 afternoon and found no signs of explosive material. On Nov. 27, a second threat was submitted through the same platform. It read:

“Since You Insist On Carrying Out Anti Communist And Inhumane Activities Don’T Blame Us For Taking Action At A Future Screening We Will Infiltrate As Viewers Begin The Screening And Suddenly Open Fire Killing Everyone And Throwing Bombs Into The Crowd This Is Not A Joke”.

• On Dec. 6, two identical submissions through Shen Yun Performing Arts’ official website used a falsified Epoch Times email and an impersonated Taiwanese politician, threatening a mass-shooting and explosives attack inside a Shen Yun venue. The sender stated they would purchase tickets, enter as audience members, and launch an attack once the performance began.

• On Dec. 6, through Shen Yun Taiwan’s ticketing LiveChat, a user identifying as “cj” threatened to assassinate Taiwan’s President and Vice President and to set fire to the Presidential Office if Shen Yun performed. The message, sent from IP address 51.158.239.186, echoed language and themes present in earlier threats.

• On Dec. 13, two nearly identical messages, sent hours apart and impersonating Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, threatened to set fire to a Shen Yun performance venue, lock all exits, and trap occupants inside if the show proceeded. Both messages were routed through the same IP address (51.158.239.186), indicating repeat targeting of Shen Yun ticketing channels.

• On Dec. 15, a message impersonating Taiwan Epoch Times editorial staff and Falun Gong practitioners claimed that large quantities of explosives had been planted simultaneously at multiple prominent sites, including the Presidential Office, Taoyuan, Songshan, Kaohsiung, and Penghu airports, Taipei Police Headquarters, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, Taipei Arena, Taipei 101, and a major semiconductor manufacturing facility. The threat warned of coordinated detonations later that day.

• On Dec. 15, two additional threats—one sent by email and another via LiveChat—claimed that explosives had been placed inside the Presidential Office and demanded the immediate cancellation of all Shen Yun performances in Taiwan, an end to cooperation with Falun Gong, and the issuance of a public statement. One message explicitly threatened that President Lai Ching-te would be killed if the demands were not met.

In total, these incidents raise the number of anonymous death threats targeting or impersonating Falun Gong since March 2024 to 211. While no physical harm occurred, the threats illustrate ongoing efforts to intimidate, smear, and destabilize communities associated with Falun Gong. All incidents have been referred to law enforcement and remain under investigation.

Updated on Dec. 16, 2025