More Death Threats Target Falun Gong and Members of U.S. Congress, as American and British Statements Condemn Attacks

Dear Reader,

Over the past week, unknown individuals continued to send a barrage of fake bomb and death threats to websites and emails affiliated with Falun Gong or Shen Yun Performing Arts, warning of attacks against practitioners, performers, and even members of Congress. To date, no violence has actually occurred but the pranks have prompted police interventions, law enforcement action, and disruption to at least one performance. At the same time, policymakers in the United States and United Kingdom have taken note of the threats and condemned them in public statements. 

To keep you informed on these latest developments, we are sharing this special issue newsletter with these updates.

Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any questions or your organization would like a private briefing on these threats or the broader Chinese Communist Party (CCP) campaign currently targeting Falun Gong globally.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

Screenshot of the threat email

From February 2 to 8, at least four messages sent in Chinese included death threats to members of the U.S. Congress and Dragon Springs, Shen Yun’s headquarters and home to its training facilities. The messages were sent using the contact form of the website FalunDafa.org, which hosts information about Falun Gong teachings and exercise instructions. The first message, sent on February 2, attempted to impersonate Chinese dissident Chen Poking and requested a ransom of 18 million dollars, stating that otherwise, “I will make Dragon Springs Temple and the U.S. Congress covered with dead bodies everywhere.” A second message, sent on February 3, entered the name of Taiwan’s Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao as the sender and said:

Subject: We do not rule out attacking Congressional members who support Falun Gong

Message: Bombs will be installed and detonated at or near these Congressional members’ residents or in their vehicles!

Additional messages were sent on February 7 and 8: one again impersonating Chen Pokong and claiming that the residences of “multiple congressional members who support Falun Gong will be bombed” and another in the name of Sun Yat-sen, the deceased founder of the Republic of China in the early 20th century, warning that “American dignitaries will be cut into pieces.” The Falun Dafa Information Center has informed law enforcement and Congressional staffers of the threats.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

French police arrive at a theater in France following a false bomb threat, then require performers to stand outside for one hour as a precaution, delaying the show’s start.

An anonymous bomb threat was sent to a theater in Dijon, France on February 3 targeting a Shen Yun performance that evening. The police suddenly arrived at the theater at 6:40pm before an 8:00pm show and evacuated performers and staff as they checked for explosives, which following the pattern of these false threats, were not found. However, performers and staff were required to stand outside the theater in the cold for one hour, returning only at 7:40pm and delaying the start of the performance until 8:45pm.

GOVERNMENT ACTIONS

On February 3, an anonymous bomb threat tried to urge the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, England to “cancel Shen Yun performances.” The writer claimed to have “purchased pistols and made a lot of incendiary bombs” and threatened to attack once the performance starts. Law enforcement were alerted and no actual violence occurred. Three days later, British member of parliament Jim Shannon raised a question in the House of Commons regarding the CCP’s “relentless persecution” of Falun Gong practitioners and also the recent intensified transnational repression targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun, calling it “deeply troubling.” He further noted:

Leaked reports from China’s Ministry of Public Security indicate that the regime is now escalating efforts to eliminate Falun Gong worldwide using a network of spies, social media, disinformation and harassment of practitioners—even here in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is not just an attack on religious freedom; it is an affront to British values, democracy and the rule of law. Will the Government urgently investigate and counter the influence of the Chinese Communist party’s transnational repression within our borders, including its attacks on Falun Gong and its attempts to censor Shen Yun performances?

In response to the query, Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, acknowledged that Shannon “raises an important issue of religious freedom or belief.” She also noted that “the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary raised human rights and matters of freedom of religion or belief on their recent visits to China.”

GOVERNMENT ACTIONS

According to a news report published on February 7, in response to a question regarding the recent transnational repression faced by Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun in the United States, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, “We condemn such acts of intimidation and urge protection of the right to free expression” and that they “urge the Chinese Communist Party to end its now 25-year campaign to eradicate Falun Gong.” The spokesperson also noted that in its annual international religious freedom report, the department has documented “incidents of interference against Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun Performing Arts in many countries.”

CCP TARGETS SHEN YUN

In a letter to the editor to the Eugene Weekly titled “Shen Yun was ‘Breathtaking,’” reader Carolyn Gsell shared her enjoyment of a recent Shen Yun performance in Oregon while questioning the paper’s reproduction of flawed New York Times reporting about the dance troupe. Referring to her initial encounter with that article, she notes:

I’m so grateful I did not stop there. Searching further online, I found a 1.5-hour video  that was an interview of a New York City man and his experience with Falun Gong and Shen Yun. This man described a beautiful practice that profoundly altered his life for the better, and the lives of his children who eventually attended the Falun Gong school. … My B.S. meter indicated this man was an honest broker sharing his true and positive experiences. Additional research confirmed that the NYT “investigative” piece is severely tainted. The CCP has been working for years to discredit the Falun Gong practices and practitioners as it threatens their political agenda.

Please, EW, don’t accept The New York Times as the final arbiter of truth. Your article misinformed readers and could end up instigating protests to future Shen Yun performances in our community. These ancient Chinese dances are a gorgeous contribution to humanity. Celebrate their preservation and the talented artists who put on this show.