Practitioners Around the Globe Celebrate the 34th Anniversary of Falun Dafa’s Public Introduction 

Beneath clear skies and to the sound of drums and music, Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in cities across continents this May to mark a milestone. For followers of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) worldwide, May 13th is a day of profound celebration. Known as World Falun Dafa Day, it marks both the anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction and the birthday of its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi.

This year, practitioners from diverse cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and professions, come together to celebrate the 34th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public on May 13, 1992. They use a variety of ways to express gratitude to Mr. Li, their spiritual teacher, for bringing them health, inner peace and a deeper meaning of life. 

China: greetings from over 70 professions 

Practitioners in mainland China—estimated at 20 to 40 million—remain unable to publicly celebrate in their homeland. As they have done every year, they submit congratulatory messages and works of art, including calligraphy, photographs, e-cards, Flash animations, poems, and essays, to Minghui.org, a website that has served as a platform for mainland Chinese practitioners to document their personal experiences since the persecution began in 1999. 

As May 13 approaches, Minghui has received thousands of greetings from practitioners across more than 70 professions, including representatives from governmental agencies such as the procuratorate, the court system, the diplomatic corps, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). 

A practitioner from Changchun, Jilin Province, the hometown of Mr. Li and the birthplace of Falun Dafa, offered this poem in gratitude and longing: 

We bow in reverent celebration of the Master’s birthday;
Drums and music resound across the Strait’s two shores. 
Disciples hold deep in their hearts the grace of your teachings—
Day and night, they wait with longing for the Master’s return. 

Celebrations span the globe 

Outside mainland China, practitioners celebrate with group exercises, parades, performances, and other public events, bringing a peaceful and compassionate presence to communities worldwide. 

Since its public introduction in 1992, Falun Dafa has spread to over 100 countries, and its principal book, Zhuan Falun, has been translated into more than 50 languages. Each year, World Falun Dafa Day has grown into a global phenomenon—from Taiwan to Japan, from Australia to New Zealand, from London to New York—wherever practitioners gather, celebrations arise. 

On May 9, practitioners in San Francisco gathered at the Ferry Building at 8 a.m. for group exercises in honor of the occasion. The serene movements drew the attention of locals and tourists alike, many of whom stopped to ask about Falun Gong. At 11 a.m., a celebratory parade set off along the Embarcadero, featuring a marching band, dragon dance, heavenly maiden team, floats, and more, drawing crowds of onlookers who paused to watch and photograph the procession. 

Support from elected officials 

Across the world, government officials and lawmakers have joined practitioners in marking World Falun Dafa Day, attending celebration events and issuing congratulatory statements affirming their support for the Falun Gong community. 

In Canada, 19 Members of Parliament gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 5, 2026. They applauded practitioners for their resolve in holding onto their faith in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) long-running persecution and reaffirmed their solidarity. 

Among those present was Garnett Genuis, co-chair of Canada’s Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong, who played a key role in passing landmark legislation amending Canada’s Criminal Code and Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to address forced organ harvesting and trafficking in China. At the event, MP Genuis stated: 

“There is continuing work that we need to do in this country and around the world to defend religious freedom, to defend the freedom of Falun Gong practitioners, and to stand up for these core values that we share: Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” 

Actions speak louder than words 

World Falun Dafa Day was first proposed by overseas practitioners and officially announced by Minghui 26 years ago, in 2000—eight years after Mr. Li introduced Falun Dafa to the public, and months after the CCP launched its brutal crackdown on practitioners in China. From the very beginning, practitioners established this day as a window through which people of all nations and walks of life could come to know Falun Dafa, even as they faced their greatest hardships. 

Twenty-six years on, that perseverance has borne extraordinary fruit. 

Despite the CCP’s sustained efforts to slander Falun Gong, practitioners have shown the world, through annual celebrations and steadfast civil courage, who they truly are: followers of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, the principles Mr. Li teaches and values that resonate across all of humanity. As the timeless proverb holds:

“Truth will prevail.”