Mass Arrests Target Falun Gong Practitioners in Hunan, Capitol Hill Panel Spotlights Transnational Repression

Dear Reader,

In a chilling echo of past repression, Chinese authorities in Yongxing County, Hunan Province, launched a large-scale raid on July 20, 2024, targeting over 20 Falun Gong practitioners and their families. Using force and power tools to break into homes, officers beat residents, looted property, and carried out mass arrests. Among those detained were Ms. Li Qun’e and Ms. Cao Shuiju—both previously arrested in a nearly identical 2009 crackdown at the same location. Ms. Li was later secretly sentenced to four years in prison.

The two incidents, separated by 15 years, reveal an intensifying pattern of religious persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. While the 2009 operation relied on detentions and fines, the 2024 raid escalated to secret sentencing and biometric surveillance. These cases highlight both the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) long-term targeting of faith groups and the unwavering resolve of practitioners who continue to uphold their beliefs despite continued persecution.

Also in this issue:

• Mr. Yang, an advocacy officer with the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), reflects on one year of advocacy on Capitol Hill and bipartisan action on China’s rights abuses.

• A 71-year-old Falun Gong practitioner dies from persecution in Liaoning Province Second Women’s Prison.

• A Capitol Hill panel exposes the CCP’s intensifying “silent war” on American soil through disinformation, legal warfare, and media manipulation.

• We re-up a 2016 FDIC report on the 610 Office—a CCP extralegal agency for suppressing Falun Gong—that was created almost exactly 26 years ago on June 10, 1999.

Finally, we’re sharing the video of NTD’s May 27 Good Morning episode featuring FDIC researcher, Ms. Cynthia Sun, on how the CCP uses unrestricted warfare to suppress dissidents in the United States, particularly Falun Gong practitioners.

FEATURE STORY

Monitoring camera at the gate of Hunan Women’s Prison （Vikorcctv.com/Edited by Faluninfo)

What’s new? 

According to the latest report as of June 3 by Minghui.org, Ms. Li Qun’e, a Falun Gong practitioner in Hunan, was transferred to Hunan Women’s Prison in February for her faith. On July 20, 2024, over 200 police, special forces, and CCP officials stormed more than 20 homes in Yongxing County, Hunan Province, targeting Falun Gong practitioners and their families. While forcibly breaking into homes—some using chainsaws to cut through doors—officers beat residents, looted belongings, and arrested practitioners including Ms. Li Qun’e and Ms. Cao Shuiju. Mr. Luo Shiyong, the husband of a practitioner, was hospitalized after trying to stop officers from stealing personal items. Practitioners were forced to give fingerprints, footprints, and blood samples.

Ms. Li was later sentenced to four years in prison, while Ms. Cao received 18 months. Many others were held up to 15 days or released after being harassed, including six elderly practitioners over 70.

Why does it matter? 

This 2024 crackdown mirrors a nearly identical mass arrest in Yongxing from November 2009—15 years ago—where 29 Falun Gong practitioners were violently detained during a peaceful spiritual gathering. That raid also targeted Ms. Li and Ms. Cao, who were later sent to labor camps after their families couldn’t afford to pay the extortion fees. Police then harassed employers and levied fines of 5,500 yuan per practitioner, shifting the cost of persecuting the practitioners onto ordinary workplaces and families.

The comparison underscores a disturbing escalation. In 2009, CCP authorities used short-term detention, beatings, and financial extortion. In 2024, they escalated to military-style home invasions, biometric surveillance, and long-term secret sentences. The shift from labor camps to prison reflects China’s deeper, more institutionalized religious repression since abolishing the labor camp system in 2013.

What else do you need to know?

The two mass arrests in Yongxing are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader, systematic effort to erase the practice through imprisonment, torture, surveillance, and public discrediting.

That the same individuals were targeted 15 years apart illustrates the regime’s long-term tracking practices and punishment of faith-based dissidents. Despite mounting pressure, these practitioners have continued to uphold their beliefs, often at an extraordinary personal cost.

NEWS

On May 7, Mr. Yang speaks at a congressional press conference, joined by lawmakers and advocates to support the passage of a bill combating forced organ harvesting in China.

Mr. Mark Yang, an advocacy officer with the Falun Dafa Information Center, reflects on a year of advocacy on Capitol Hill promoting the Falun Gong Protection Act, aimed at confronting the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Through meetings with congressional offices, briefings, and support for survivors, Mr. Yang expounds on five key lessons. First, truth has the power to move even skeptical political insiders when presented sincerely. Second, the CCP’s greatest weapon is propaganda, but countering it with facts—through testimony, media, and art—can dismantle lies. Third, grassroots efforts from abroad, such as tens of thousands of calls into China, have directly helped save lives. Fourth, the Falun Gong Protection Act protects not just one group—it combats forced organ harvesting and strengthens U.S. accountability and global human rights. Finally, Yang emphasizes that hope is contagious but only if matched with action. Despite obstacles, real progress is being made, including the act’s passage in the House. He calls on readers to continue that momentum and help push it through the Senate, underscoring that lasting change begins with moral clarity and courage.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

Ms. Wang Yan, a 71-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shenyang, Liaoning Province, died on May 9, 2025, while incarcerated at Liaoning Province Second Women’s Prison. Her death, attributed to the persecution, brings the confirmed toll of Falun Gong deaths under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) repression to over 5,205, according to Minghui.org.

Wang was first arrested on March 5, 2022, after police accused her of distributing Falun Gong materials. Her home was raided, and she was briefly detained and fined. Police returned in July and detained her again; she was later sentenced to four years in prison. While in custody, she developed breast cancer, which her acquaintances attribute to sustained mistreatment and denial of medical care.

Wang died without regaining her freedom. Her case highlights ongoing abuses at Liaoning’s women’s prison system, where at least 63 Falun Gong deaths have been reported. Rights advocates state that police, prosecutors, and prison staff are accountable for her death, citing the broader pattern of religious persecution in China.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

On June 6, a Capitol Hill panel hosted by The Epoch Times exposed the CCP’s intensifying “silent war” on American soil, targeting the Falun Gong spiritual group through disinformation, legal warfare, and media manipulation. Experts revealed how the CCP has escalated efforts—especially under Xi Jinping—to discredit Falun Gong globally, focusing on character attacks against its founder and disrupting affiliated organizations like Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Chinese Australian legal scholar Yuan Hongbing described the campaign as “striking on all fronts,” involving co-opted media, weaponized lawsuits, and false narratives. Mark Yang of the Falun Dafa Information Center detailed over 100 incidents of harassment, including a fake bomb threat at the Kennedy Center and attempts to provoke U.S. investigations into Shen Yun. He warned that the CCP’s tactics—if left unchecked—could be used against any group or institution it disfavors.

Panelist Eric Patterson, president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, criticized U.S. media for merely echoing CCP narratives and emphasized the need to recognize the regime’s hostility toward democratic values. The panel underscored that Falun Gong is targeted not for political reasons, but because its moral teachings represent an authority outside the CCP’s control—making it a prime target for suppression both inside and outside of China.

The 610 Office, established on June 10, 1999, is an extralegal security agency created by former CCP leader Jiang Zemin to eliminate Falun Gong. Officially renamed the Office of the Leading Group for Prevention and Handling Xiejiao-related Issues. It operates outside China’s legal system and wields sweeping authority. The office long had branches across the nation and often overrides regular law enforcement to detain, torture, and forcibly “transform” Falun Gong adherents. Soon after its founding, the 610 Office became notorious for brutal tactics, including sexual abuse and extreme torture, as documented by human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng.

Structurally, the 610 Office functioned under the CCP’s Central Leading Group and has been led by several high-ranking security officials, often holding dual roles in the Ministry of Public Security. Though the office was formally absorbed into the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and MPS in 2018, its influence and tactics persist. Former heads, like Fu Zhenghua, helped institutionalize its persecution model, now used against other minority groups. The office has also been named in connection with transnational repression and U.S. prosecutions of PRC agents.

This article, originally published by the Falun Dafa Information Center in 2016, documents the origins and abuses of the 610 Office. Now, on the 26th anniversary of its creation, the legacy of this Gestapo-like agency continues to shape the CCP’s repressive apparatus and undermine religious freedom and the rule of law in China and even abroad.

On NTD Good Morning on May 27, Ms. Cynthia Sun, a researcher with the Falun Dafa Information Center, discussed how the CCP uses “unrestricted warfare” to suppress dissidents in the United States, particularly Falun Gong practitioners. She outlined a disturbing pattern of transnational repression, including bomb, rape, and arson threats in 26 American cities, aimed at silencing organizations like Shen Yun. Sun noted how CCP agents exploited U.S. institutions, including the media and legal system, to infiltrate and discredit faith-based groups, citing the example of spies who attempted to strip Shen Yun’s nonprofit status.

Sun also explained that the CCP targets religious and ethnic groups to suppress values like faith and identity that threaten its authoritarian control. She warned of growing ideological subversion, with increasing numbers of Gen Z Americans expressing favorable views of communism. Despite these threats, Sun emphasized that no acts of violence have occurred at Falun Gong events and called for stronger federal action, including investigations into transnational repression. She highlighted rising awareness in Congress and expressed hope that the U.S. would take firmer steps to defend freedom of belief on its own soil.