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Dear Reader,
Last week, two events in Washington brought attention to the Chinese regime’s rights abuses on International Human Rights Day (December 10). On Capitol Hill, a China Human Rights Advocacy Fair that we hosted gathered survivors, researchers, and advocates from across 11 different organizations and multiple affected communities to brief congressional staff on persecution in China and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) growing transnational repression in the United States.
The same day, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released its 2025 Annual Report, which explicitly highlights ongoing torture, forced organ harvesting, and arbitrary sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners, as well as harassment and threats reaching overseas. Together, these two events show both a growing awareness in Washington—and a sharper, more public acknowledgment—that Falun Gong remains a central target of the CCP’s abuses, at home and abroad.
Also in this issue:
Mass arrests in Shandong, mass sentencing in Hunan, and a recent death in custody in Liaoning together highlight the escalating and life-threatening risks faced by the Falun Gong practitioners in China. From mid-November through mid-December 2025, anonymous and impersonated threats escalated against Falun Gong, Shen Yun, supportive media, and public officials in the United States, Taiwan, and Australia. In its International Human Rights Day statement, the European Union called for the immediate and unconditional release of two Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience in China.
To conclude, we share an interview given by Congresswoman Young Kim at the China Human Rights Fair on Capitol Hill.
Wishing all of our readers happy holidays and a wonderful new year. |
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Sincerely, |
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Levi Browde, Executive Director
Falun Dafa Information Center |
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FEATURE STORY |
2025 Annual Report from U.S. Commission on China Puts Falun Gong into Focus |
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What’s new?
On International Human Rights Day, December 10, the CECC released its Annual Report, giving clear attention to the CCP’s continued persecution of Falun Gong. The report explicitly mentions Falun Gong in reports of ongoing torture, state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting, and arbitrary sentencing under Article 300. In its freedom of religion chapter, the CECC finds that the CCP “continue[s] to direct considerable resources and attention” to the suppression of Falun Gong. The report also highlights transnational repression cases, including bomb threats against Shen Yun and the Department of Justice’s conviction of Chen Jun for plotting against Falun Gong practitioners in the United States. Senator Dan Sullivan, CECC Chair, described the report as evidence of a pattern of “Beijing’s broken promises.”
Why does it matter?
This report reaffirms that Falun Gong remains a major target of the CCP inside China and abroad. The CECC’s policy recommendations call for legislation countering organ harvesting in China, targeted sanctions, and a coordinated response to CCP transnational repression. It also shows that U.S. policymakers are concerned about the harassment, threats, and censorship tactics reaching into American communities.
What else do you need to know?
The CECC’s Political Prisoner Database lists 485 Falun Gong practitioners among current religious prisoners, making Falun Gong one of the largest groups of faith-based prisoners of conscience tracked. Individual cases in the report include elderly practitioner Zhao Ying (sentenced despite cancer and serious heart disease) and Zuo Hongtao, who died in prison while serving a 13-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong and was cremated without family consent.
The report flags censorship of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools as well: China’s DeepSeek model bakes in restrictions on “sensitive topics” like Falun Gong, hinting that CCP red lines are being embedded into global tech tools. |
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PERSECUTION IN CHINA |
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Chinese Security Agents Conduct Mass Arrests of Falun Gong in Shandong Province and Mass Sentencing in Hunan |
Nearly 40 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Jinan, Shandong Province, on Sept. 29, with at least 16 still detained, while ten practitioners in Changde, Hunan Province, were sentenced to prison on Nov. 12 for practicing their faith. These cases mirror patterns identified in the Falun Dafa Information Center’s July 2025 report on how Chinese security forces are cracking down harder on elderly, veteran Falun Gong practitioners.
The report highlighted that elderly practitioners are a prime target. This trend is reflected in both Jinan and Changde. Women are also disproportionately affected, accounting for roughly 70 percent of detainees in both cases.
The dangers confronting these prisoners of conscience are underscored by another recent case in Liaoning Province, where a 45-year-old Falun Gong practitioner died just three days after being admitted to a women’s prison for her faith. |
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TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION |
December 2025 Transnational Repression Update: Anonymous Death Threats, Impersonations Target Falun Gong and Supporters in Australia, Taiwan, and the United States |
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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.
For example, on Nov. 21, a perpetrator who impersonated a sitting Taiwanese legislator 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!”
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. |
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NEWS |
EU Human Rights Day Statement Highlights Detention of Falun Gong Practitioners in China |
On December 10, International Human Rights Day, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to China issued a statement reaffirming the universality of human rights and expressing deep concern over China’s deteriorating human rights record, including severe restrictions on freedom of belief. While continuing engagement through dialogue, the EU highlighted persistent patterns of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and denial of due process targeting individuals and groups for their beliefs. These concerns explicitly extend to Falun Gong practitioners, who continue to face persecution, imprisonment, and ill-treatment for exercising their spiritual convictions.
The statement also reiterated the EU’s call for the immediate and unconditional release of two Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Ding Yuande and Ms. Xu Na. Mr. Ding, who is imprisoned in Shandong Province Prison for practicing Falun Gong, was cited as a case of unlawful detention in the European Parliament’s January 2024 resolution (2024/2504(RSP)). Ms. Xu, a veteran Falun Gong practitioner, is reportedly detained in Beijing Women’s Prison, marking her third imprisonment since the CCP launched its persecution of Falun Gong.
“On this Human Rights Day, we reaffirm our commitment to uphold the dignity and freedoms of all people in China and around the world,” the Delegation stated. |
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On International Human Rights Day, eleven China-focused organizations gathered in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill to highlight the CCP’s human rights abuses and an escalation of transnational repression in the United States to intimidate and silence critics. The Falun Dafa Information Center hosted the event, with the goal to give congressional staff and members a chance to speak directly and in an informal setting with survivors and experts from across diverse persecuted communities.
In this video, Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) whose office provided logistical support for the event, urged sustained, unified advocacy to confront human rights abuses by the CCP, warning that global inattention enables continued repression. Speaking at the Capitol Hill fair, Kim emphasized that human rights and freedom are “non-negotiable” and should remain central to U.S. engagement with China, including trade policy. |
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