February 2026 Transnational Repression Update

Over the past two months (late December 2025 through late February 2026), patterns of transnational repression targeting Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters have intensified across multiple regions. Documented incidents include physical intimidation in public spaces, coordinated death threats against elected officials and civilians, direct diplomatic interference on European soil, and repeated disinformation campaigns aimed at theaters and government institutions. Taken together, these developments reflect a multi-pronged strategy combining harassment, coercion, propaganda, and intimidation beyond China’s borders.

Assault & physical Intimidation

Two incidents in Malaysia and Australia in late December and early January illustrate how hostility toward Falun Gong practitioners is manifesting in public spaces overseas, amid heightened propaganda activity linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

On Dec. 24, 2025, a Chinese tourist allegedly kicked over informational materials displayed by 74-year-old retiree Ealine Ho Chak Lin outside Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur, according to a Malaysia-based news report. Ho had been presenting information about forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China when the incident occurred around noon, as a tour group exited the mosque. According to her police report filed at the Dang Wangi station, the man scolded her and knocked down all her display boards. Ho, a volunteer at the Falun Gong information site, said she did not understand what provoked the reaction but stressed that intimidation would not deter her from continuing at the same location.

The episode follows earlier disruptions in Malaysia. On April 13, seventy-six practitioners were reportedly detained ahead of a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Kuala Lumpur. On Aug. 6, several men in black threatened two Tuidang volunteers who had set up a booth at Taman Connaught. On Aug. 15, a Falun Gong information site at Tugu Negara was disrupted by a group of Chinese nationals who forcibly seized a practitioner’s standing display; a witness reported the group identified themselves as connected to a “China police station.”

A separate incident occurred on Jan. 2, 2026, at Cavill Mall in Gold Coast. Maryann Leatham, a commercial cookery teacher of Scottish background, said an Australian man approached her and another practitioner during a public display about the persecution. He showed them an image on his phone and demanded, “What is this? Do you know what this is? You do, don’t you?” When Leatham appeared confused, he accused them of “lying.”

Leatham said the image related to the self-immolation incident staged in Tiananmen Square on Jan. 23, 2001, which Chinese state media broadcast worldwide as evidence against Falun Gong. However, a subsequent investigation by The Washington Post found major inconsistencies, reporting that no one had ever seen two of the alleged self-immolators practice Falun Gong. Leatham explained this context and invited the man to hear further information. He walked away unconvinced.

Approximately 15 to 20 minutes later, the man and his wife, a woman of Chinese appearance, returned. The man remained silent, but his wife turned to Leatham, said, “You are all full of [expletive],” and spat at her—fortunately missing. “I feel a deep sadness for people who have been misled by lies and deceit,” Leatham later said.

Notably, the confrontation occurred the same day the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney issued a statement attacking Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts, urging Australians not to attend its shows and alleging it promoted “anti-China narratives.” In response, Senator Ralph Babet condemned the consulate’s remarks, stating: “How dare the CCP through its Sydney consulate, presume to tell Australians what we can and cannot watch. This is Australia, not China. We are a free country.”

Violent threats

Between mid-January and mid-February, a coordinated series of violent threats targeted Shen Yun 2026 performances across multiple continents, indicating a deliberate effort to disrupt the company’s global tour through intimidation and fear.

One representative example is that between Feb. 10 and Feb. 15, at least five threatening emails were sent from the same address ([email protected]) to theaters and other ticketing entities in South Korea, Canada, Italy, and Austria. Each email, drafted in Chinese, warned that if performances by Shen Yun Performing Arts proceeded as scheduled, senior political leaders or the general public would face grave harm.

• On Feb. 10, an email sent to Shen Yun’s Korea ticketing contact warned that if performances continued, “something will happen to Lee Jae-myung,” explicitly threatening the safety of Lee Jae-myung and “all South Korean high-ranking officials.”

• That same day, a similar message was sent to Shen Yun’s Canadian ticketing office, stating that if the show proceeded, “something will happen to the Canadian Prime Minister,” naming Mark Carney and referencing “all of Canada’s top officials.”

• Also on Feb. 10, Shen Yun tour organizers in Italy received an email warning that harm would come to President Sergio Mattarella if the performance was not canceled, adding, “Just don’t regret it later.”

• Also on Feb. 10 in Austria, a parallel email declared in its subject line that “If you insist on proceeding with the Shen Yun performance, multiple terrorist attacks will occur.” The email body read,

“If you don’t care about the safety of all Austrian citizens and think multiple terrorist attacks have nothing to do with you, then go ahead and keep putting on this show. Whatever. As long as you can afford the price, I won’t try to talk you out of it. Just don’t regret it later.”

• On Feb. 15, a second email to the Korea ticketing address intensified the intimidation, claiming that someone would impersonate Falun Gong practitioners to launch a terrorist attack in Seoul and cautioning that “reporting it will only lead to greater danger.”

Besides Shen Yun, Falun Gong and its supporters were also directly threatened.

On Jan. 23, a death threat message was submitted through the contact form of the Falun Dafa Information Center (Faluninfo) website from an IP address traced to Holland. The message warned that Australian political figures supporting Falun Gong “will be killed” and that “their homes may also be set on fire,” extending the same threats to staff of Faluninfo.

Taken together, these incidents bring the total number of anonymous death threats targeting Falun Gong and its supporters since March 2024 to 243. Although no physical harm has occurred to date, the scale, repetition, and cross-border nature of these threats underscore a sustained campaign of intimidation. All incidents have been reported to law enforcement authorities and remain under investigation.

In January, a documented case of foreign interference unfolded in France when the Chinese Embassy in Paris sought to block a screening of the documentary State Organs at the Gulf Stream cinema in La Baule-Escoublac. The award-winning 2024 film examines evidence of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

On the morning of Jan. 16, 2026, cinema director Sonia Molière received an email from the Chinese Embassy with the subject line: “Opposition of the Chinese Embassy to the screening of the film State Organs.” Faluninfo reviewed a copy of the diplomatic correspondence, noting repeated denials of forced organ harvesting and accusations against Falun Gong.

That same afternoon, embassy officials called the cinema directly and contacted La Baule Town Hall in an apparent effort to pressure local authorities. Despite these interventions, both cinema management and Mayor Franck Louvrier declined to cancel the event. Local police were alerted, and security measures were implemented.

From 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., three armed police officers wearing bulletproof vests were stationed in the cinema lobby. The screening proceeded without incident before an audience of 68 attendees. Following the film, remarks were delivered by the event coordinator, the Deputy Director of DAFOH (Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting), and a survivor of a Chinese labor camp. Audience members signed the international G7+7 petition opposing forced organ harvesting.

As previously reported by Faluninfo, on Dec. 19, 2025, an anonymous individual using the name “Sophia” and claiming to be a former Shen Yun performer circulated a lengthy disinformation email to a U.K. government agency, multiple U.K. theaters, and a U.S. theater. Sent from a ProtonMail address and requesting anonymity due to alleged safety concerns, the message accused Shen Yun and Falun Gong of abuse and illegal conduct and urged venues to withdraw support for upcoming performances.

On Feb. 5, 2026, the same actor, using the same ProtonMail address and similar narrative framing, circulated a comparable email to multiple German theaters. The message reiterated unsubstantiated allegations against Shen Yun and Falun Gong in an apparent effort to dissuade venues from hosting performances.

The repetition, cross-border targeting, and coordinated timing of these communications indicate a sustained disinformation strategy aimed at undermining cultural institutions and eroding public confidence through anonymous smear campaigns.

The incidents documented above—physical harassment, explicit death threats against elected officials and civilians, diplomatic interference, and coordinated disinformation—demonstrate an increasingly assertive pattern of transnational repression targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun worldwide. For policymakers and human rights stakeholders, these developments warrant continued scrutiny, enhanced protective measures for targeted communities, and clear reaffirmation that intimidation and foreign interference have no place in democratic societies.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at [email protected].

(Updated on Feb. 25)