Falun Gong Booth in New York Attacked After Receiving Terror and Bomb Threats
NEW YORK—A man attacked and damaged one of the Falun Gong booths in New York on April 29, after members of the spiritual community reported receiving near-daily threats of bomb and terror attacks for over a week.
'The CCP's acts of terror threaten the lives and property of the American people, threaten the security and stability of American communities, and undermine America's foundation of religious freedom. We call on the United States to take this seriously and designate the CCP as a terrorist organization and a terrorist party,' the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) stated in response to the attack and recent threats.
The New York-based center is an nonprofit organization formed in the wake of the global 'Quit the CCP' ('
The series of threats began ahead of an anniversary of a key date related to the Chinese communist regime's religious persecution of Falun Gong, and a day after thousands of Falun Gong practitioners held a parade and rally in Flushing, calling for an end to the CCP's persecution and standing in support of more than 440 million Chinese people who have quit the CCP.
Threats Surrounding the April 25 Anniversary
On April 20, the service center received a message threatening a mass shooting of anyone wearing clothes with 'Falun Gong' on April 25 in Flushing.
The date marks Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal for their
The Chinese communist regime launched a violent persecution of Falun Gong practitioners on July 20, 1999, under which practitioners have been victims of human trafficking and live
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Since then, Falun Gong practitioners
From April 20 to April 28, the center received six messages threatening bomb attacks, shootings, car accidents, rapes, abduction of children, and other acts of terror, largely targeting Falun Gong practitioners and supporters.
On April 20, multiple Queens Public Library branches
An official with the New York City Police Department's 109th Precinct confirmed that the emails the center and libraries received are similar, and that the IP addresses of the emails are in China.
Cybersecurity experts who recently
Eyewitness Account
In Flushing, Falun Gong practitioners and volunteers with the Global Service Center for Quitting often have a booth set up near the Main Street subway station, with materials about how to quit the CCP, as well as information about Falun Gong.
Chen Yikui, a Falun Gong practitioner, was nearby and passing out pamphlets the morning of April 29 when Chen saw a Chinese man dressed in green walk over and begin kicking the booth, almost knocking it over.
'
I felt that with his strength and speed, if I hadn't gone over to stop him, he would have kicked it apart,' Chen told The Epoch Times.
Chen said the man also yelled at a practitioner to hit him, as if trying to incite a fight. A video taken of the incident and viewed by The Epoch Times mirrors Chen's account.
Chen said that the man had also taken a call during that time and that he wondered whether he was being directed to attack the booth. When Chen asked the man why he was kicking the booth, the man, who identified himself as Fan Yang, said he didn't like them, and that no one had sent him.
Chen said that Fan accused the practitioners of illegally setting up the booth, and Chen replied that they are exercising their First Amendment rights, and the police who routinely patrol by the booth greet them normally.
Some of the Falun Gong practitioners who distribute pamphlets in Flushing have experienced firsthand the CCP's persecution in China, such as detention and torture, and find the harassment and recent threats characteristic of the regime. Chen said that if the threats had really been carried out, the CCP would seal its fate as a 'terrorist organization.'
The service center has reported the incident to the local police and the FBI.
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