Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched a new strategy to target the spiritual group in the United States.
NEW YORK—An ever-growing lineup of whistleblowers have identified the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the culprit behind an avalanche of attacks on Falun Gong practitioners in America as well as companies they founded to raise awareness about the persecution they face in China.
The attacks adopt various tactics and forms, showcasing the range of the CCP toolkit for using American institutions and silencing its critics.
One of the companies targeted by the CCP, Shen Yun Performing Arts, produces acclaimed classical Chinese dance shows presented around the world under the tagline of “China before communism.” It was founded by practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline who fled religious persecution in China.
Over the past few years, Shen Yun, and Falun Gong more broadly, have been under constant attack in the U.S. The methods employed included bomb threats, mass shooting threats, social media trolling, impersonation, lawsuits, media smears, and even physical attacks.
Over the past six months, multiple CCP whistleblowers have come forward, warning that the attacks are orchestrated by the CCP as part of a new campaign to “eliminate” Falun Gong not just in China, but also in the United States and other countries around the world.
The campaign mainly relies on disinformation via social media influencers and Western media outlets that can’t be easily traced back to the CCP. In tandem, it utilizes the U.S. legal and law enforcement system to go after companies started by Falun Gong practitioners, particularly Shen Yun, the whistleblowers said.
The campaign was personally ordered by CCP leader Xi Jinping at an October 2022 secret meeting, according to Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal scholar living in exile in Australia who obtained the information from his sources, including a member of a veteran CCP family that now opposes Xi.
By Petr Svab
