Latest Research
On this page, you will find a compilation of independent research and special reports done by Falun Dafa Information Center staff. You will also find statements and testimonies that act as comprehensive outlines of the current state of major issues related to the persecution of Falun Gong.
Incident Tracker
Falun Gong practitioners around the world have long been targets of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) smear campaigns and transnational repression. Nevertheless, starting in August 2023, the Falun Dafa Information Center noticed an uptick in online disinformation and offline threats targeting Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun Performing Arts, a classical Chinese dance troupe many of whose performers practice Falun Gong. This page is dedicated to tracking all incidents in 2024 related to direct threats and other relevant campaigns. READ
October 2024 (Ongoing)
Special Reports
On Aug. 15, 2024, the New York Times published an article on the Shen Yun dance company, founded by people who practice Falun Gong, and a companion article on the same day dealing with Falun Gong itself. The articles portrayed Shen Yun as an abusive environment that treats performers as “expendable.” The paper’s portrayals are unrecognizable not only to current and former Shen Yun performers, but also to doctors, lawyers, and China specialists closely familiar with these communities. Such decisions have consequences. Within China, the CCP’s propaganda apparatus has already begun making widespread use of the articles in its own campaign to demonize Falun Gong, a campaign which fuels violence against millions of innocent people—including family members of Shen Yun performers. READ
August 26, 2024
China’s Ministry of Public Security and other Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations have launched an unprecedented campaign to “eliminate” Falun Gong globally, especially in the United States, and to undermine Shen Yun Performing Arts, a popular classical Chinese dance company many of whose performers practice Falun Gong. To implement the new initiative, CCP entities will—or have already begun to—support social media influencers who spread disinformation about these targets, manipulate search engine results, and “activate” a network of agents worldwide. This is according to a series of newly leaked internal sources, visible shifts in CCP propaganda, and detailed analysis published in this report. READ
August 7, 2024
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, this report looks at the current state of the violent campaign based on research and reporting from January 2022 through April 2024, identifying prominent trends in the persecution and the regime’s key tactics in implementing one of the largest human rights crises in China today. The report also examines the CCP’s extensive transnational repression campaign targeting Falun Gong practitioners and their efforts to efforts to raise awareness abroad about the persecution in China. READ
July 9, 2024
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) violent campaign to eradicate the Falun Gong spiritual group is one of the most serious human rights crises taking place in China, affecting tens of millions of people and costing billions of dollars. Yet it has been severely underreported and its victims largely discarded and maligned. As the 25th anniversary of this tragedy approaches, the Falun Dafa Information Center examined coverage of Falun Gong in The New York Times, an agenda-setting paper, and found disturbing results. READ
March 21, 2024
The Chinese Communist Party is targeting Shen Yun Performing Arts, a U.S.-based non-profit, with an aggressive global campaign of artistic censorship, marking one of the most intense efforts of Beijing-driven repression documented to date. This campaign is a key aspect of the regime’s broader transnational repression aimed at Falun Gong practitioners, their activism, and their supporters worldwide. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Beijing’s tactics and offers insights into the necessary steps to counter such repressive measures. READ
January 8, 2024
In this report published in July 2023, the Falun Dafa Information Center presents key developments in the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong on the anniversary of the 24th year of its launch. Inside China, the community of Falun Gong practitioners continue to face digital surveillance, unjust detention and sentences, and death due to persecution. Outside of China, the CCP exerts its influence to carry out transnational repression against Falun Gong adherents. READ
July 20, 2023
In this report published in May 2023, the Falun Dafa Information Center examines the presence of Falun Gong practitioners and clubs on dozens of university campuses across the United States, and the various ways in which the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong impacts campus events, student experiences, and textbooks used in Chinese-language courses. READ
May 24, 2023
This brief by the Falun Dafa Information Center contextualizes the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong in 2022 to broader societal themes and international events through five key trends. Following these trends, this report looks ahead at how these trends will play out in the coming years and what new trends may emerge. READ
January 2023
In this report published in May 2023, the Falun Dafa Information Center examines the presence of Falun Gong practitioners and clubs on dozens of university campuses across the United States, and the various ways in which the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong impacts campus events, student experiences, and textbooks used in Chinese-language courses. READ
March 2022
Testimonies and Statements
On September 18, 2024, the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) held a hearing on urgent cases of Americans imprisoned in China. Multiple experts, including Falun Dafa Information Center researcher Cynthia Sun, provided testimony. READ
September 2024
On March 20, 2024, the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) held a hearing on forced organ harvesting of Chinese prisoners of conscience, including people who practice Falun Gong. Multiple experts, including Falun Dafa Information Center researcher Cynthia Sun, provided testimony. READ
March 2024
On September 12, 2023, the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) held a hearing on the Chinese regime’s transnational repression. Among those who submitted statements was Levi Browde, Executive Director of the Falun Dafa Information Center. READ
September 2023
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hosted a hearing on May 10, 2023, that examined transnational repression on the basis of religion, belief, or advocacy for religious freedom and how the United State can respond accordingly. The Falun Dafa Information Center submitted a written statement addressing transnational repression of Falun Gong practitioners in the United States. READ
May 2023
Articles
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is mobilizing institutions throughout Chinese society and the ubiquitous WeChat app to spread false propaganda demonizing Falun Gong and garner millions of signatures on a petition against the faith and other banned religious groups, according to new research by the Falun Dafa Information Center on January 18, 2024. READ
January 18, 2024
Amid the Chinese Communist Party’s renewed focus on regime security, the crackdown on Falun Gong has become a top priority for central and local authorities. Work reports, speeches, and directives from at least 12 provinces since 2017 highlight the violent campaign against Falun Gong as key to controlling the population and maintaining political power. Public statements by top security officials in 2023 signal an end to years of silence, correlating with intensified persecution observed by the Falun Dafa Information Center since the COVID-19 pandemic. This article, published by the Falun Dafa Information Center on December 6, 2023, details these developments. READ
December 6, 2023
Pervasive state surveillance has facilitated the detention of over 50 Falun Gong practitioners since November 2022. High-tech surveillance has swelled in China over the past two decades, but its expansion accelerated at an even faster pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports from Minghui, an overseas Falun Gong website that publishes first-hand accounts from citizen journalists across China, show that video surveillance played a significant role in the detention and sentencing of dozens of Falun Gong practitioners over the past year. READ
December 14, 2023
