On July 17, Falun Gong practitioners in Washington, D.C., and across the globe held rallies, parades, and candlelight vigils to mark the 26th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal persecution of the spiritual practice, which began on July 20, 1999. The events commemorated the lives lost and aimed to raise awareness of the ongoing human rights abuses in China.
To coincide with the anniversary, the Falun Dafa Information Center released a new document titled “Ten Key Facts About Falun Gong,” designed to help the public, policymakers, and journalists better understand what it calls one of the largest international human rights crises of the modern era—impacting tens of millions of lives.
At the Washington event, U.S. lawmakers, nonprofit leaders, and human rights advocates delivered powerful speeches in support of Falun Gong. They condemned the CCP’s atrocities and transnational repression campaigns while praising practitioners for their steadfast commitment to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Following the rally, thousands of participants marched under the summer sun from the National Mall through Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue, concluding at Freedom Plaza. The roughly one-mile parade featured several themed contingents.
Leading the procession was the Tian Guo Marching Band, the largest Chinese marching band outside of Asia, performing pieces such as “Falun Dafa is Good.” The “Falun Dafa Spreads Worldwide” section highlighted the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and showcased the practice’s reach across more than 100 countries and ethnic groups.
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The “Stop the Persecution” contingent used banners and visual displays to expose the CCP’s arrests, torture, and forced organ harvesting. The “Quit the CCP” group commemorated the nearly 400 million Chinese citizens who have renounced their ties to the Communist Party, holding signs and literature such as Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
The memorial segment was solemn and striking: dressed in white, participants carried portraits of practitioners who lost their lives due to the persecution, along with the Chinese character for “Remembrance,” symbolizing unwavering commitment to justice.
U.S. Congress Passes Falun Gong Protection Act; Lawmakers Voice Support
At the July 17 rally on the National Mall commemorating the 26th anniversary of the July 20 persecution, several U.S. Members of Congress either appeared in person or delivered video messages to express their strong support for Falun Gong. They called for an immediate end to the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of the practice.
Congressman Pat Ryan delivered a heartfelt speech at the rally, reaffirming bipartisan support for Falun Gong: “I’m so proud to have co-led critical, pivotal, bipartisan legislation, the Falun Gong Protection Act.”
“I’ll continue to speak out with your all’s help and to amplify your voices without hesitation or reservation against any restriction of human rights, and specifically the persecution of religious groups and the Falun Gong.” He praised the practitioners’ unwavering commitment to nonviolent resistance over the past 26 years, despite facing torture and the threat of death.
Ryan emphasized that Falun Gong’s struggle is not only about religious freedom but also about defending universal values. “I’m so proud to have co-led critical, pivotal, bipartisan legislation, the Falun Gong Protection Act. It’s the landmark piece of legislation in the Congress to codify those protections and to hold accountable the egregious violations against the Falun Gong community that will not be tolerated, specifically to stand united, to hold organ traffickers who you all know have been systematically for decades conducting these incredibly grave violations of human rights, to hold them accountable fully for the reprehensible crimes, and to make a statement that in the United States of America and around the world, we will not tolerate those actions.” He called on the international community to unite in ending this 26-year-long tragedy.
Piero Tozzi, Chief of Staff of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), recounted the persecution’s history, stating:
“Over a quarter century ago, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin began the full scale persecution of the Falun Gong movement today, under another general secretary, Xi Jinping, the brutal persecution continues.”
He praised Falun Gong practitioners for their continued peaceful resistance in the face of imprisonment, torture, and forced organ harvesting. Tozzi also warned of the CCP’s increasingly high-tech repression tactics, including facial recognition and mass surveillance, yet affirmed that the resilience of Falun Gong shows that faith cannot be crushed. He called for international action, including sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act and a UN investigation into organ harvesting crimes.
Senator Ted Cruz issued a powerful video statement, condemning the CCP’s atrocities:
“For 26 years, the Chinese Communist Party has been engaged in horrific human rights atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners, the CCP fears Falun Gong, its beliefs and religious freedom in general, as they fear anything that is beyond the control of authoritarianism. These attacks should have ended long ago, and the United States should take action to stop it now.”
He said the CCP fears Falun Gong because of its core tenets of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance,” and the moral strength that threatens the Party’s grip on power.
“That’s why I introduced the Falun Gong Protection Act, to shine the light on the CCP’s atrocities and to hold the perpetrators accountable. Tyranny fears nothing more than truth and darkness fears nothing more than light. To all the practitioners gathered in Washington today, thank you, your courage, your resilience and your commitment to protecting religious liberty are an inspiration.” Cruz urged the U.S. government to take tougher actions, including targeted sanctions on officials responsible for the persecution, and to lead global efforts to defend religious freedom.
Senator Todd Young from Indiana, seats Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senate Committee of Finance, delivered remarks via video, firmly standing with Falun Gong:
“For decades, the CCP has used fear and coercion to suppress the rights of the Chinese people, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, communities of faith, including Falun Gong practitioners, have suffered unimaginable abuses, detained silence and stripped of basic human dignity, all under the guise of oppressive laws that label faith and culture as extremism or terrorism.” He emphasized :“ As a United States Senator, I believe our country has a moral duty to defend human rights, both at home and abroad, that includes confronting the CCPs atrocities, preventing future abuses, and working with our allies to advance freedom and justice around the world, I stand with you today in solidarity, your courage, your voice and your peaceful protest matter.”
Support from Human Rights Groups
At the July 17 rally in Washington, D.C., several representatives from prominent human rights organizations voiced strong support for Falun Gong practitioners and called on the international community to take concrete action against the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution.
Serkan Tas, Associate Director for Chinese studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, condemned the CCP’s brutal campaign:
“Today, together, we commemorate 26 years since the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners in July 1999 what began as a peaceful, spiritual movement centered on truthfulness, compassion, tolerance, has endured more now, more than a century of systematic persecution, torture and industrial scale, force organ harvesting.” “Most alarmingly, the CCP plans to triple the number of organ harvesting facilities in Xinjiang by 2030 we must remain vigilant as China’s persecution of Falun Gong extends far beyond its borders. Chinese authorities regularly engage in transnational repression, including within the United States.” He emphasized that Falun Gong practitioners’ resilience in the face of such repression is a powerful testament to the strength of faith: “On behalf of the victims of communism, Memorial Foundation, I want to thank you again for your courage and tireless determination to advocate for freedom in China.”
Wendy Wright, president of the Christian Freedom International, compared the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong with other global religious persecutions:
“26 years of brutal oppression by the Chinese Communists against Falun Gong estimated 5,200 dead from persecution, hundreds of thousands killed from organ harvesting. The Chinese Communists consider this peaceful movement of Falun Gong a threat to its national political security. But not only the Falun Gong, other peaceful people as well are considered a threat by the Chinese Communists as it tries to crush Christianity inside China, and not only inside China, the communists are reaching outside of China into other countries to threaten foreign practitioners, and they have, the Chinese Communists even have a disturbing influence on us, universities and corporations.”
She praised Falun Gong practitioners’ commitment to nonviolent resistance, saying it serves as a model for other persecuted groups:
“The numbers are growing because you have shown how to be resilient under unrelenting cruelty. You never relent. You tell others, you gather allies, you flourish in exposing the truth through news and creative arts. And on behalf of Christians, we thank you for never giving up.”
Rick Fisher, senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a leading expert on China’s military and global strategy, shining the spotlight on the CCP’s threats to freedom, especially its war on faith and human rights, stated in his speech:
“It is an honor to share this heat. Why is it so hot? Because the love in your hearts for your family, for your colleagues, for the world, shines so bright, and your determination to stand up before the greatest criminal gang in history, the history of mankind, radiates so strongly. What about this criminal gang, the Chinese Communist Party. It has just passed a membership of a 100 million, 100 million, who are required to crush our freedom eventually to achieve hegemony over this planet and then hegemony over our solar system.”
“ It is an honor again to stand before you, those who have for 26 years, challenged and stood up to this criminal gang. Your sacrifices are known best to you, your families and your friends. I can never personally describe what you’ve endured, but I can only state my personal appreciation for your determination, your bravery to stand up to this gang, to never falter in front of its cruel, perverse, barbaric persecution, that you are here today is a testament to your strength, that you stand up to this criminal gang. You offer its members a chance to leave to join the rest of the world, and it’s you its tolerance of human rights, political belief.”
Zhiyuan Wang, the President of the Global Service Center for quitting the CCP or GSC , and a physician who hosted the event, Safeguarding Freedom: Countering CCP Transnational Repression, Ending the Persecution of Falun Gong, and Supporting the Quit-CCP movement. Wang explained that this is why exposing the nature and scale of the CCP’s transnational oppression, and how the Quit CCP movement bloomed and grew to this powerful tool of peaceful resistance.
He stated: “In other words, losing CCP membership in China could mean losing everything, therefore renouncing CCP affiliation takes wisdom and courage.” “The CCP employs unrestricted warfare, using the American legal system and public opinion machine to launch legal warfare and public opinion warfare, it targets not just a single religion, it targets to completely destroy America’s value systems. It appears that, for now, the CCP is targeting just Falun Gong, Shenyun performing arts, the Epoch Times Media Group, as well as individuals and groups, who adhere to universal values. However, ultimately, the goal is the United States itself.”
He also pointed out: “I say this because if the CCP can successfully persecute powerful practitioners on American soil, the United States will fall into the dilemma of moral complicity. American freedom will become a laughingstock, and America’s moral leadership will be over. When this day comes, the CCP will apply the method they used to attack Falun Gong to the whole world, and use it to bully the entire human society. I’m not here to spread fear. I am here to awaken the power of conscience.”
Erping Zhang, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Center, gave an in-depth interview with C-SPAN, explaining the nature of Falun Gong and the persecution it has faced:
“Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It is apolitical, voluntary, and focused on mental and physical well-being.”
He noted that Falun Gong practitioners have founded independent media outlets such as The Epoch Times and New Tang Dynasty Television, which have played a key role in exposing the CCP’s lies and atrocities, raising global awareness about human rights issues in China.
“Our goal is to rescue persecuted practitioners in China and to let the world know the truth. The peaceful resistance of Falun Gong has changed the mindset of many Chinese people and inspired people around the world to stand against tyranny.”
He concluded, “This is a battle between morality and evil, and we firmly believe that justice will ultimately prevail.”
Ten Key Facts About Falun Gong
On the occasion of the 26th anniversary of July 20 (7/20), the Falun Dafa Information Center compiled the following ten key facts to help the public better understand Falun Gong and the truth behind the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution:
- Nature of Falun Gong: Falun Gong is a spiritual practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, combining meditation and gentle exercises. It has no clergy or formal membership, is taught for free, and is practiced by tens of millions in over 100 countries worldwide.
- Popularity in the 1990s: During the 1990s, Falun Gong gained immense popularity in China and was praised by state-run media for its health benefits. However, when official estimates showed the number of practitioners exceeded that of Communist Party members, the CCP banned Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, launching a nationwide campaign to eradicate it.
- Falun Gong’s Survival: Despite decades of suppression, the CCP has failed to eliminate Falun Gong, which remains one of its top targets. Since 2022, the persecution has escalated, with official speeches and local government websites continuing to emphasize cracking down on Falun Gong.
- Mass Arrests and Imprisonment: Falun Gong practitioners are subjected to mass arrests and long-term imprisonment without due process — even first-time detainees are given lengthy sentences.
- Lethal Persecution: Practitioners risk death from torture, medical neglect, and forced organ harvesting while in detention or prison.
- Surveillance Methods: The CCP employs both high-tech (e.g., facial recognition) and low-tech (e.g., neighborhood informants) surveillance to track, monitor, and detain Falun Gong practitioners.
- Grassroots Resistance: Ordinary Chinese citizens persist in practicing Falun Gong and resisting persecution through grassroots efforts — countering CCP propaganda, rescuing detained practitioners, and envisioning a nonviolent future.
- Transnational Repression: The CCP’s suppression extends globally. Since 2022, crackdowns on Falun Gong and the Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe have intensified — including bribing U.S. officials, manipulating legal systems, issuing over 100 anonymous bomb threats, and launching smear campaigns on social media.
- Global Support: Falun Gong has received widespread support from elected officials, public figures, and citizens around the world. Over the past 26 years, more than 13,000 proclamations, letters of support, and resolutions have been issued in its defense.
- Falun Gong and Modern China: Understanding Falun Gong is key to understanding contemporary China and the CCP’s influence abroad. The practice’s resistance highlights the regime’s multifaceted tactics of foreign interference and repression.
Commentator Tang Jingyuan: “Goodness Will Ultimately Triumph Over Evil”
Renowned commentator Tang Jingyuan emphasized that Falun Gong practitioners’ unwavering commitment to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance in the face of 26 years of persecution stands as a historic example of nonviolent resistance:
“Under threats of torture, imprisonment, and death, they have shown extraordinary courage and moral strength by distributing informational materials, organizing rallies, and founding media outlets to expose the CCP’s atrocities.”
He specifically highlighted the “Tuidang” (Quit the Party) movement, which has seen over 350 million Chinese people renounce the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations since the publication of The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party in 2004. He credited Falun Gong practitioners’ perseverance as a driving force behind the movement:
“Falun Gong’s resistance is not aimed at overthrowing the CCP, but at awakening people’s conscience, inspiring moral renewal, and guiding a nonviolent transformation. This shakes the very foundations of the CCP’s rule.”
Tang quoted human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, “Falun Gong has found a bloodless path to change — persuading people to withdraw from an evil party.”
Analyzing China’s current state, Tang noted that the CCP is “teetering on the edge,” beset by internal power struggles, economic decline, international isolation, and growing public discontent, all of which are eroding its legitimacy:
“The persecution of Falun Gong is, at its core, an assault on universal values. But the global growth of Falun Gong in over 100 countries proves that authoritarianism cannot suppress truth.”
He pointed out that the CCP’s increasing efforts to persecute Falun Gong overseas — including manipulation of Western media and legal systems — stem from a place of deep fear:
“The more ferociously the CCP cracks down, the more it exposes its own weakness. The survival of Falun Gong is proof that the power of faith is indestructible.”
Tang concluded by stating that Falun Gong’s resistance embodies the triumph of goodness over evil:
“In the face of the CCP’s violence and lies, Falun Gong practitioners respond with sincerity, kindness, and patience — and this strength will prevail in the end.”
He drew a parallel with the fall of the Soviet Union, noting that authoritarian regimes collapse due to their inhuman nature:
“Falun Gong’s peaceful resistance reminds us that when society’s moral foundation is rebuilt, the power of goodness becomes unstoppable.”
Tang called on the international community to support Falun Gong, reject the CCP’s persecution, and advance the cause of human rights worldwide.
By Ran Xiao and Janet Huang
