The Chinese Communist Party has launched disinformation campaigns to pitch the U.S. government against the Falun Gong religious group.
The Chinese regime is implementing plans to “eradicate Falun Gong worldwide” by pitching the U.S. government against the faith group, according to leaked documents obtained by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), a U.S.-based human rights watchdog.
Notes from two meetings of China’s top espionage and security agencies also revealed plans to stop U.S. human rights sanctions “by any means necessary.”
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The faith—rooted in traditional Chinese culture and not aligned with communist ideology—attracted more than 70 million adherents in China by 1999, according to official estimates. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), however, perceived its popularity as an existential threat.
At the May and June nationwide virtual meetings hosted by the Ministries of State and Public Securities, top Party officials reiterated that they saw Falun Gong as a “hidden security threat” at home and believed that without international support driven by the members of the spiritual practice overseas, the faith group would cease to exist in China.
According to WOIPFG’s source, the Party apparatus carried out multiple disinformation campaigns, including one particularly to drive a wedge between the U.S. government and Falun Gong practitioners in the country by spreading claims such as “the U.S. government has been bought by the CCP and will ban Falun Gong.”
WOIPFG learned that a dedicated propaganda team was tasked to craft such messages, which would then be spread online and by CCP special agents among Falun Gong practitioners to steer the group members to protest against the U.S. government. The United States became the primary focus due to its global leadership and the efforts of U.S.-based Falun Gong practitioners to raise awareness of the Party’s persecution.
The CCP’s directives also included infiltrating Shen Yun Performing Arts and The Epoch Times and targeting them for lawsuits. Both organizations were established by Falun Gong practitioners and are headquartered in the United States. Shen Yun showcases China before communist influence through Chinese classical dance and music, while The Epoch Times reports uncensored news about China and the CCP, including the persecution of Falun Gong.
