New Petition to U.S. Congress, YouTuber Offered Money to Spread Anti-Falun Gong Content

Dear Reader,

The Falun Gong Protection Act (FGPA) was reintroduced in the 119th Congress earlier this month. If passed, it would be the first enforceable federal legislation aiming at holding the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and severe human rights abuses, including forced organ harvesting.

The Falun Dafa Information Center has launched an online petition so Americans can call on their representatives to cosponsor the FGPA and advocate for its swift passage.

Also in this issue:

• An 85-year-old woman in China has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined 5,000 yuan for practicing Falun Gong.

• At least 23 violent threats have been reported between March 1 and 20, 2025, targeting the Falun Gong community and its supporters outside China.

• A group of Falun Dafa practitioners won first place in the local Presidents’ Day parade in Alexandria, Virginia for their marching band.

• A prominent YouTuber reports being offered money to spread anti-Falun Gong CCP propaganda.

Finally, we are sharing a video of my recent speech at a webinar hosted by the Committee on the Present Danger: China to address how Beijing is leveraging U.S. courts, media, and regulatory agencies to target Falun Gong communities.

FEATURE STORY

What’s new? 

On March 3, 2025, the Falun Gong Protection Act (FGPA) was reintroduced in the 119th Congress in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Falun Dafa Information Center has launched a public petition urging Americans to call on their representatives to cosponsor the FGPA and push for its swift passage.

Why does it matter? 

The FGPA (S.817 and H.R.1540) is a vital bill aimed at holding the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and severe human rights abuses, including forced organ harvesting.

Since July 1999, the CCP has conducted one of the largest campaigns of religious persecution in the world, targeting tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners. This includes arbitrary detention, forced labor, systematic torture, reports of thousands of deaths in custody, and the harvesting of organs from living prisoners of conscience. While Congress has passed multiple resolutions condemning these atrocities, no legally binding U.S. policy has been enacted—until now.

The FGPA would require the U.S. government to determine whether the persecution of Falun Gong constitutes an “atrocity” under U.S. law, impose targeted sanctions on the CCP officials responsible for religious suppression and forced organ harvesting, increase transparency and accountability for U.S. medical institutions collaborating with China, and work with international allies to expose these human rights violations and enforce coordinated sanctions and visa restrictions. 

What else do you need to know? 

A similar bill was unanimously passed in the House last Congress but stalled in the Senate. This time, the FGPA has gained bipartisan support, with nine cosponsors in the House and three in the Senate—and more expected.

Your voice matters. Urge Congress to act and help save innocent lives.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

Wang Xiangling, an 85-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shandong Province, has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined 5,000 yuan for her spiritual practice. Her detention in July 2024 was part of a broader sweep in which local authorities detained six Falun Gong practitioners, all over the age of 50. This latest punishment is just one chapter in a long history of state repression suffered by Ms. Wang. Since 1999, she has endured numerous hardships, including beatings, forced labor in a labor camp, illegal detention, and extortion. Despite chronic illness before embracing Falun Gong, her health transformed dramatically with the practice, and she became known for her compassion and dedication, caring for her aging mother-in-law until her passing.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

Throughout March 2025, anonymous messages that threaten violence against Falun Gong practitioners, Shen Yun Performing Arts, and prominent individuals who support Falun Gong continued to arrive via email and contact forms. The threats targeted individuals and locations in the United States, Canada, Spain, and Taiwan. As of March 20, the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC) had documented at least 23 threat incidents for the month, bringing the total over the past year to 106.

Of these, 78 percent (18 incidents) targeted Shen Yun, its headquarters, performers, or theaters hosting Shen Yun shows. Additionally, three death threats were reported that named children and relatives of Falun Gong practitioners as targets. Another death threat focused on Cheng Peiming, the first known survivor of Beijing’s forced organ harvesting practices, who now resides in the United States. In addition to the Falun Gong community, some messages have threatened violence against U.S. and other elected officials. Notably, one March 2 threat sent to an FDIC email threatened arson against Shen Yun’s headquarters as well as violence against U.S. President Donald Trump. A March 13 threat cast a wider net, threatening violence against “politicians, celebrities, and officials from all over the world who support Falun Gong.” Law enforcement agencies have been notified of all threats. To date, no violence has actually occurred, indicating the messages are primarily aimed at intimidating, as well as disrupting Shen Yun performances and increasing costs.

COMMUNITY NEWS

On February 15, 2025, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the local Presidents’ Day parade in Alexandria, Virginia, and they were awarded first place by the parade judges in the Adult Marching Bands category. The practitioners had a beautifully decorated float and an energetic waist drum team that captured the attention of both organizers and spectators. Their performance was widely praised for its elegance, precision, and display of cultural artistry. Emphasizing the core principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, their display resonated deeply with the audience, reflecting the spiritual and moral values at the heart of Falun Dafa.

Tim Pool on the TimCast podcast (Tim Pool/Edited by Faluninfo)

A growing body of evidence indicates that the CCP is actively manipulating social media platforms to spread disinformation against Falun Gong and Shen Yun. A recent article from The Populist Times and other sources has brought renewed attention to Beijing’s online influence operations and earlier revelation by Tim Pool, a conservative influencer whose YouTube channels have 4 million subscribers and 3 billion views.

Pool disclosed in late 2024 that he was personally approached with an offer to disseminate anti-Falun Gong content—one facet of a much larger disinformation campaign.  “The Falun Gong people were handing out flyers and stuff,” Pool explained, “and it’s funny because China started hiring YouTubers. They offered – I’m pretty sure I got offered this at one point – they said they’d give me $200 to post a video to my YouTube channel.” Pool declined the offer but noted that others, enticed by the financial incentive, likely accepted.

On March 7, 2025, Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, participated as a panelist in a webinar hosted by the Committee on the Present Danger: China. In his speech, Mr. Browde detailed the CCP’s long-standing and evolving tactics in persecuting Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts, an American classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners. He highlighted how Beijing has systematically employed lawfare—manipulating the American judicial system and regulatory agencies—to suppress dissent.

Mr. Browde warned that these tactics are part of a refined and increasingly aggressive playbook designed to silence not only Falun Gong but any organization or individual that challenges Beijing. He emphasized that this weaponization of American institutions poses a significant national security threat, calling for vigilance and decisive action to counter such methods.