International Investigation Highlights Serbia Case of Transnational Repression, Voices of Support for April 25

Dear Reader,

This week the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a series of articles about how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) carries out transnational repression around the world. The organization and its media partners interviewed 105 people across 23 countries, including Falun Gong practitioners. It is reassuring to see this issue, which is a daily reality for Falun Gong practitioners worldwide, receive such dedicated attention.

Indeed, one ICIJ feature about how local police in various countries have detained residents and activists to prevent protests during visits by CCP head Xi Jinping included an incident in Serbia last year related to Falun Gong. At the time, seven Falun Gong practitioners and one family member who doesn’t practice Falun Gong were held for over 24 hours. You can read additional details below.

Also in this issue:

• A Beijing family of three was sentenced for practicing Falun Gong.

• Prominent individuals voice support for Falun Gong during April 25 commemorations.

• Coordinated death threats target Falun Gong events and Shen Yun in April.

• A Chinese American IT professional has made over 50,000 calls into China to expose rights abuses and debunk CCP propaganda.

To conclude, we invite you to watch our April 24 webinar honoring the peaceful April 25, 1999, appeal by Falun Gong practitioners. The event features a presentation by Dr. Larry Liu and firsthand accounts from three grassroots activists.

FEATURE STORY

Seven Falun Gong practitioners and one family member who doesn’t practice Falun Gong were held for over 24 hours when CCP head Xi Jinping visited Serbia in May 2024.(ICIJ/Edited by Faluninfo )

What’s new? 

On April 29, the ICIJ published a series of articles about the CCP’s transnational repression against a range of targets, including Falun Gong practitioners. Alongside features about the regime’s playbook and abuse of Interpol notices, the organization published a detailed account of how people seeking to peacefully protest during foreign visits by Xi Jinping had been detained. Among seven highlighted case studies was a 2024 incident from Serbia about Falun Gong practitioners being arrested.

Ahead of Xi’s arrival in the European country, Dejan Marković, a filmmaker and long-time Falun Gong practitioner, was pre-emptively taken from his home by Serbian police and held for over 24 hours, then released without charge. Seven other Falun Gong practitioners and Marković’s brother Vladimir (who does not practice) were also detained. As in other examples in the article, once Xi departed the country, they were released.

Why does it matter? 

Marković’s case demonstrates two important aspects of the CCP’s transnational repression. First, the regime has an uncanny ability to recruit local police to do its bidding in silencing potential critics. Second, although the CCP’s primary target are members of the Chinese diaspora or exiles, they are not the only ones at risk. Non-Chinese who speak out against abuses or belong to communities, like Falun Gong, that are persecuted by the regime can also become targets for transnational suppression.

What else do you need to know?

This is not an isolated incident. As Falun Gong practitioners around the world have sought to peacefully raise awareness and protest persecution—including during visits abroad by top Chinese officials—they have encountered harassment, beatings by pro-Beijing proxies, blacklisting, and occasionally, detentions by local authorities. Marković himself created a documentary based on a 2014 incident when Falun Gong practitioners in Serbia were arrested and several deported during an earlier visit to the country by Xi.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

In Beijing, a family of three—62-year-old Yu Shikun, her daughter Liu Meili, and son-in-law An Chaoxu—was sentenced for practicing Falun Gong. Mentougou District Court sentenced Yu to 18 months in prison, Liu to two years, and An to two years and added a three-year probation. Liu and An were arrested in April 2024 for allegedly distributing Falun Gong materials, but the evidence against them was weak and even police in their hometown in Hebei were initially unable to find evidence. Despite this, authorities pressured Liu, likely under torture, to implicate her mother as the person who introduced her to Falun Gong. Yu was later detained, and police returned to Hebei to gather information from neighbors with the promise of rewards. The case highlights the extreme and persistent measures that Chinese security forces will go to in order to collect so-called “evidence” to imprison local residents who practice Falun Gong.

NEWS

Falun Gong practitioners participate in a parade in Flushing, New York, on April 19, 2025, to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times)

April 25 marks the 26th anniversary of a historic peaceful appeal in Beijing, where 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the State Council Appeals Office to request the release of 45 illegally detained practitioners in Tianjin and to call for the freedom to practice their faith amid growing government suppression. Around the world, practitioners in cities including New York, Toronto, London, Yokohama, Taipei, and Sydney held commemorative events promoting religious freedom, peace, and human rights. The Falun Dafa Information Center highlights selected letters, statements, and speeches from elected representatives, human rights leaders, and Chinese democracy activists in honor of this year’s anniversary.

For example, British Member of Parliament Jim Shannon remarked, “The systematic persecution and exploitation of this peaceful spiritual group demand a clear and unified response to uphold justice, protect fundamental freedoms, and hold the CCP accountable for these atrocities.” Wei Libin, a democracy activist in New York noted, “The Chinese people owe Falun Gong an apology,” pointing out that fear, ignorance, and prejudice have led many to remain silent, even complicit, in the CCP’s persecution.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

In April, Falun Gong communities and their supporters across the United States, Taiwan, Japan, France, and Mexico received a disturbing series of threats of violence and intimidation. Messages submitted via emails, live chats, and people impersonating others used contact forms—primarily written in Chinese—to warn of imminent attacks. Many were timed to disrupt April 25 commemorative events—especially parades—and shows by Shen Yun Performing Arts (a classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners).

The 17 threats received in April bring the total of violent threats targeting Falun Gong practitioners, Shen Yun, and their supporters to 134 since March 2024. Although no violence actually occurred, security was increased. In several cases, buildings—including the Flushing branch of Queens Public Library—were evacuated as police confirmed that no explosives were present.

For the past 13 years, Diana has made over 50,000 phone calls into China and has helped more than 5,000 people withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party. “Compared to others, it’s not a huge number,” says the IT professional from North Carolina. “But to me, each person matters. Each conversation is a small crack in the Great Firewall.”

Her activism has had real impact. On one occasion, Diana called a local police station in China and persuaded officers to release a detained Falun Gong practitioner. In another conversation, she spoke with a young Uyghur intern at a hospital in Xinjiang about human rights abuses—including reports of forced organ harvesting targeting Uyghurs and Falun Gong practitioners. By the end of the conversation, he quit the Communist Youth League—the first step to severing ties with the CCP. Then he thanked Diana.

On April 24, the Falun Dafa Information Center hosted a webinar marking 26 years since Falun Gong’s April 25, 1999, appeal in Beijing. The event examined grassroots resistance to authoritarianism in China, featuring expert Dr. Larry Liu and three activists: a longtime underground printshop owner from China, a Chinese American who makes phone calls to China, and a Germany-based advocate whose father is in prison. Moderated by Cynthia Sun, the discussion highlighted personal stories of dissent and resilience against the persecution.