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Epoch Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
UK Committed to Protecting Falun Gong Practitioners, Minister Says as Persecution by CCP Enters 27th Year
The UK government is committed to championing religious freedom and protecting Falun Gong practitioners from Beijing's transnational repression, a minister says, as the faith group marked the 26th anniversary of the persecution of practitioners by the Chinese regime. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. First introduced to the public in China in 1992, the practice quickly spread by word of mouth to reach an estimated 70 million to 100 million practitioners by 1999. The CCP, fearing that Falun Gong's popularity threatened the regime's power, began a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice on July 20, 1999. Since then, untold numbers of Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to arbitrary detention, forced labor, torture, and even death by forced organ harvesting. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also ramped up its transnational aggression against Falun Gong and its related organizations—in particular, Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based arts group founded by Falun Gong practitioners. The UK Falun Dafa Association said that three UK theaters received bomb and mass shooting threats in February via email just before Shen Yun performances were about to take place. 'These incidents were reported to local police and additional security measures were implemented during the performances to assure everyone's safety,' the association wrote, in a letter inviting British parliamentarians to attend an event calling for an end to the persecution. The association stated that Falun Gong information booths in the UK have faced repeated harassment by Chinese individuals, including 'verbal abuse, vandalism, theft, destruction, and even physical assault.' It also stated that UK practitioners were subject to harassing phone calls, malware, and surveillance and that Chinese state security officials had threatened their family members in China over their human rights advocacy in the UK. Writing to the Falun Dafa Association, Catherine West, minister for the Indo-Pacific, thanked practitioners for the invitation on behalf of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. 'This Government takes the safety and security of Falun Gong practitioners, the Shen Yun performers, and their audience very seriously,' she wrote in the letter, which was posted on a website that documents the persecution. West said the Labor government is 'firm in its support for the rights of performance groups, such as Shen Yun, and their audiences.' 'Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass, or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated,' she said. The minister reaffirmed the UK's commitment to promoting and protecting religious freedom via its roles in the United Nations, G7, and other multilateral platforms, as well as through direct dialogue with the Chinese regime. A number of cross-party members of the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament have also condemned the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in letters and emails to practitioners in their constituencies. Scottish National Party spokesperson Brendan O'Hara sent best wishes on behalf of the party, saying the SNP will guarantee 'continued support as you face intensifying persecution from within China and increasing transnational repression of Falun Gong practitioners abroad.' He highlighted the findings of the China Tribunal and the U.N. special rapporteurs on minority issues and on freedom of religion or belief, which 'both established beyond any doubt that the Falun Gong have been, and continue to be, subjected to the most awful crimes including the unspeakably horrific practice of organ harvesting.' He said that MPs will 'continue to speak out against these atrocities' and advocate for everyone's right to 'freely practice their religion and to openly express their deeply held beliefs.' In 2019, the London-based independent China Tribunal, chaired by prominent judge and barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice, concluded that the Chinese regime had committed torture and crimes against humanity through state-sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. The tribunal found that the victims were mainly Falun Gong practitioners and that the practice had been carried out on a significant scale. In March 2020, the tribunal stated in its final judgement that there was 'no evidence of the practice [of forced organ harvesting] having been stopped.' Starting in 2006, U.N. human rights experts have made multiple requests to the Chinese regime to respond to allegations of forced organ harvesting. In June 2021, U.N. experts said in a press release that they were 'extremely alarmed' by 'credible information that detainees from ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities may be forcibly subjected to blood tests and organ examinations such as ultrasound and x-rays, without their informed consent; while other prisoners are not required to undergo such examinations.' The results of these tests are 'registered in a database of living organ sources that facilitates organ allocation,' they wrote. Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill told a constituent that the UK government should 'press the World Health Organization for a clear response to the China Tribunal's findings and a proper independent assessment,' noting that she would 'continue to press the UK Government to send a clear message that we will not stand by and we will not tolerate such gross abuses of human rights.' Conservative MP Dr. Caroline Johnson, shadow minister for health and social care, said she shares the concern about the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and other groups in China. 'I find their testimonies distressing and their treatment is one of many reasons why the previous Government designated China as one of 32 human rights priority countries for the UK,' she said, noting that she would 'keep the UK Government's actions under close scrutiny to ensure that they set out their concerns to the Chinese Government.' Conservative MP Richard Holden, the opposition whip and shadow paymaster general, lauded Falun Gong practitioners for '[standing] peacefully for truth, compassion and tolerance' and 'raising awareness and for continuing to speak out in defence of fundamental freedoms.' 'I am also troubled by reports of harassment and intimidation of Falun Gong practitioners outside China, including here in the UK. Such transnational repression is unacceptable and must be met with a clear response,' he said. Conservative Assistant Whip Gregory Stafford, who is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said the CCP is 'a threat to our democracy and to the values we hold dear in the West.' 'The treatment of Falun Gong—a peaceful spiritual practice—exemplifies the CCP's broader assault on freedom of belief, conscience, and expression,' he said. 'These abuses are not only a humanitarian crisis but part of a pattern that represents a growing threat to democratic values and international norms.' Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George said, 'The peaceful practice of Falun Gong, rooted in truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and practiced by millions, deserves not only our respect but our resolute protection.' He said the UK government should 'take a firmer stand through targeted sanctions, law enforcement action, and robust support for freedom of belief.' Other lawmakers who voiced their support for Falun Gong practitioners include Labour MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Baggy Shanker, Labour Peer Baroness Lister of Burtersett, Labour MSP Foysol Choudhury, independent MSP John Mason, SNP MSP Bob Doris, and Scottish Green Party MSP Ariane Burgess.
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Chinese Asylum Seeker Urges US to Pass Falun Gong Protection Act
Falun Gong practitioner Qin Yongjie expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the United States for 'the freedom to practice his beliefs on its soil' while attending a recent parade in the U.S. capital. On July 17, Falun Gong practitioners and supporters from the Eastern United States gathered in Washington to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese regime, calling for the disbandment of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an end to the persecution. 'In China, the persecution our family endured is one example of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong,' Qin said. 'For 26 years, the unimaginable suffering endured by Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China has been beyond the comprehension of the international community.' Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The CCP, fearing that Falun Gong's popularity threatened the regime's power, began a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice on July 20, 1999. Since then, untold numbers of practitioners have been subjected to arbitrary detention, forced labor, torture, and even death by forced organ harvesting. 'The persecution is still ongoing, and the CCP's heinous crime of large-scale organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners has not stopped,' Qin told NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. 'I hope the Falun Gong Protection Act will be passed in Congress as soon as possible for the president to sign into law, helping to end the persecution soon.' He said that 'in Communist China, there is no freedom of belief.' 'The CCP forces all Chinese people to study Marxist-Leninist doctrines of struggle from a young age, which is a very terrifying reality,' he said. On May 5, the House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act (HR 1540) by voice vote with no objections. The bill includes provisions to sanction individuals implicated in the forced harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. The sanctions would apply to foreign nationals 'who the President determines have knowingly engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting of organs within the People's Republic of China,' according to the bill. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), lead sponsor of the Falun Gong Protection Act, said that 'there has to be some consequence to this barbaric and horrific behavior.' Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the companion bill (S.817) in the Senate in March. 'China's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is an attack on religious freedom and human rights,' he said in a statement. 'I urge my colleagues to join me in countering these human rights violations and ensuring the CCP is held accountable.' Newfound Freedom This was Qin's second time attending the commemoration event in the United States. He felt a 'sacredness and excitement' during the parade, noting it is 'impossible to practice in mainland China right now.' Qin and his wife, Chen Ruiyun, both schoolteachers in China, fled the communist country in February last year. 'We trekked through mountains and rivers, crossing from Central to South America, and arrived in the United States after countless hardships, finally reuniting with our daughter,' he said. They had planned this journey after a particularly harrowing experience in May 2014, when the couple and their daughter were detained in a detention center in their hometown of Weifang city, Shandong Province, for a month. 'From that moment, we began seeking ways to flee overseas,' Qin said. 'My daughter came to the United States to study in January 2018, and my wife and I finally achieved our dream of joining her last year.' Qin's story with Falun Gong dates back to 1997, when he began practicing it with his wife, who had taken up the practice a year earlier, during its meteoric rise in popularity since its introduction in 1992. 'The principles of Falun Gong—truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance—gave us boundless hope and strength for the future. From then on, Falun Dafa became our lifelong faith,' he said. 'Cuffed to Iron Door for 79 Days' Since the start of the persecution, many practitioners, including Qin and his wife, were forcibly taken away by the authorities and sent to China's extrajudicial system of forced labor camps and prisons. 'Being detained in detention centers, jails, and brainwashing centers became a frequent occurrence for our family,' Qin said. 'My wife and I were abducted and detained over 10 times by the CCP; our daughter was abducted and detained twice. 'I was taken to a forced labor camp twice for a total of four years, while my wife was sent to a labor camp for three years.' Qin spent two months in the Weifang Forced Labor Camp before being transferred to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp, where the majority of arrested male Falun Gong practitioners from Shandong Province were detained and persecuted. He said he was handcuffed day and night—even while eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, and changing clothes—for 141 days. Qin recalled the persecution he experienced at the labor camp. 'I was confined in a roughly four-square-meter cell in solitary confinement. They forced me to be cuffed to the iron door, stand, and embrace the door for 79 days,' he said. 'During the first 10 days, I was not allowed to close my eyes; if I did, I was beaten on the head with a small stick.' Qin's legs swelled severely due to prolonged standing and his struggle to maintain balance. On the 10th day, Qin protested their depriving him of sleep, which led to more abuses. Qin said more than 10 policemen, each wielding an electric baton, electrocuted him. 'This inhumane electric torture lasted an entire morning and covered my entire body,' he said. 'The scars from the electric shocks took two years to fade.' After the torture session, Qin could only lean against the iron door while standing cuffed to it. The guards then allowed him to lie down from midnight to 5 a.m., but kept him chained to the door for the rest of the day. This torture continued for 79 days. In protest of the abuses, Qin went on a hunger strike for 74 days, during which the police resorted to force-feeding, thrusting a tube through his nostril into his stomach. He said that each time the tube was inserted or removed, his nose bled, causing excruciating pain. Despite the abuses, Qin remained unwavering in his faith. He said that the main principles of Falun Gong—to be true, compassionate, and forbearing—constitute 'the core of what people often refer to as universal values.' 'All societal corruption, chaos, and natural or man-made disasters stem from people's words and actions deviating from these principles,' he said. 'That's why, despite brutal persecution, we steadfastly uphold our faith.' The Brainwashing Center The abuses occurred not only in forced labor camps but also in so-called brainwashing centers. On one occasion, in a brainwashing center in Weifang city, Qin and his wife, Chen, were held in separate small rooms with all doors and windows fitted with iron bars and tightly sealed. The police used another torture method on them: handcuffs and foot shackles welded to iron chairs. Qin and Chen were forced into these iron chairs and were handcuffed and shackled at the ankles. The police worked in three shifts to interrogate them separately around the clock, attempting to coerce them into renouncing their faith. Whenever they closed their eyes, the police either splashed cold water on their faces or blasted loud noises through speakers placed near their ears. This round-the-clock sleep deprivation lasted nearly 40 days until the police extorted fines of 20,000 yuan ($2,796) and 10,000 yuan ($1,398) from the schools where Qin and Chen worked before releasing them. The money was deducted from their salaries. For more than 20 years, the CCP's surveillance of them never ceased. 'We lived in fear, constantly worried about being arrested, beaten, imprisoned, or even killed,' Qin said. Even after they fled China, the police repeatedly harassed Qin's sisters about his and Chen's whereabouts and staked out at Qin's former neighborhood for an extended period, attempting to capture the couple. Ongoing Persecution in Weifang City Reports on Minghui, a website dedicated to documenting the persecution of Falun Gong by the regime, revealed that at least 139 Falun Gong practitioners in Qin's hometown of Weifang city had been persecuted to death by the CCP. Many more cases go unreported due to families' fear of repercussions at the hands of the regime. Among the Falun Gong practitioners persecuted to death for their faith, Qin said he personally knew 18 of them. Some of them were killed during detention, while others died shortly after being released from prisons, labor camps, or brainwashing centers. Qin said he still vividly remembers one of them, Jiang Guobo, a former official of the Weifang Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Committee, who was persecuted alongside him in the same labor camp. Because Jiang refused to renounce his faith in Falun Gong, he was arrested 13 times, sentenced to forced labor three times, and later imprisoned for five years in Shandong Men's Prison, where he was subjected to drug torture. After his release, Jiang continued to suffer from the effects of the unknown drugs that were forcibly injected into him in prison, experiencing abdominal swelling, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and rectal bleeding, according to Minghui. He frequently fainted and ultimately passed away on April 29, 2021. Qin, who frequently visits Minghui to keep abreast of the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in his hometown, said, 'The persecution in Weifang City remains severe.' From Minghui, he learned that his friend Wu Jiqiang, a Falun Gong practitioner in Weifang, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison by the Kuiwen District Court on April 18. Many of his other friends remain detained by the CCP in detention centers and prisons. 'I thank the U.S. government and the American people for their support of Falun Dafa, which helps bring justice to persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in China,' Qin said.
Epoch Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Over 50 Canadian Lawmakers Condemn China's Persecution of Falun Gong, Extension of Repression Overseas
More than 50 Canadian parliamentarians have condemned the Chinese regime's 26-year-long persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice, calling for an end to the ongoing human rights abuses in China and to transnational repression targeting practitioners in Canada. Fifty-two MPs and a senator with different party affiliations have signed a joint statement urging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to 'immediately' end its persecution of Falun Gong. The statement also condemns the regime's escalating transnational repression, which includes surveillance, harassment, intimidation, assault, disinformation, and cyberattacks against the meditation group on Canadian soil. The statement comes as the persecution of the spiritual group entered its 26th year on July 20. 'We, the undersigned Parliamentarians, stand in solidarity with the Falun Gong community and strongly condemn the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) escalating transnational repression (TNR) and ongoing, 26-year persecution of Falun Gong practitioners,' reads the statement. 'Falun Gong—also known as Falun Dafa—is a peaceful spiritual practice based on the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance,' the statement adds. 'Since 1999, the CCP has attempted to eliminate this faith group through systematic and egregious human rights abuses.' Although the discipline is currently practised in more than 100 countries worldwide, it is banned in communist China, where practitioners continue to face severe persecution, with reports of torture, forced labour, killings, and live forced organ harvesting. Bomb and Mass Shooting Threats The parliamentarians' joint statement cites Beijing's targeting in Canada of U.S. dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts—founded by Falun Gong practitioners—as an instance of transnational repression. It notes that venues hosting Shen Yun in four Canadian cities this year received bomb or shooting threats—part of the more than 140 false threats that venues hosting the dance company received worldwide in the past year. Some of these threats have been traced to sources in China. Shen Yun's stated aim, under the tagline 'China before communism,' is to portray traditional Chinese culture through dance and music. Shen Yun's artists find their inspiration in the practice of Falun Gong, according to the company's website, and among them are those who have escaped persecution in China. The Epoch Times learned last year via two sources that Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a 2022 secret meeting, instructed top state officials on a new strategy to target Falun Gong internationally, including through disinformation campaigns and by using Western media outlets and the local legal system to go after companies started by Falun Gong practitioners. The regime's previous efforts to suppress Falun Gong overseas had essentially failed, according to the Chinese leader. Parliamentarians said in their joint statement that the threats targeting the dance company 'are part of a broader, global CCP-led campaign of sabotage aimed at suppressing Falun Gong and Shen Yun.' 'These actions not only harm the Falun Gong community and disrupt Shen Yun, but also threatens the integrity of Canada's institutions, sovereignty, and core democratic values,' reads the statement. Grace Wollensak, a spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, says she is grateful for the statement issued by the parliamentarians. 'We are glad that these over 50 MPs and senators are speaking out to condemn CCP's repression, not only in China, but also in Canada and around the world,' Wollensak said, noting that the MPs put out the statement in just over two weeks and despite many being on vacation during the summer break. 'We are encouraged that they understand this important issue and are expressing their support and standing in solidarity with Falun Gong practitioners.' She adds that the Chinese regime's transnational repression and smear campaigns span the globe. 'Since 2022, at Xi Jinping's direction, the regime has been engaging in a more aggressive and sophisticated campaign to intimidate, threaten, and silence Falun Gong and entities like Shen Yun Performing Arts, especially in the United States, but also in Canada and other countries,' she said. 'Well-documented incidents include an attempt to bribe U.S. officials to turn against Shen Yun, manipulating the U.S. legal system, issuing over 100 anonymous bomb threats, and undertaking social media manipulation campaigns.' Last year, a U.S. court sentenced a U.S.-based Chinese agent to 20 months in prison for attempting to bribe an Internal Revenue Service official with US$50,000 to revoke Shen Yun's non-profit status. Wollensak says that in Canada, more people have become aware of the CCP's transnational repression efforts, and government officials are more alert to it. 'We are grateful for their understanding,' she said. Harassment, Smear Campaigns, Intimidation A 2024 report submitted to Canada's Foreign Interference Commission by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada outlines various forms of repression faced by practitioners within the country, including physical assault, verbal harassment, intimidation of relatives, and pressure on elected officials to stop supporting Falun Gong. In a recent case, on Jan. 23, 2024, a Chinese man wielded a metal bar and uttered death threats against Falun Gong practitioners who were raising awareness of the persecution outside the Chinese Consulate's visa office in Toronto. He repeatedly struck one of the banners until it was torn, took pictures of practitioners, and threatened to kill them, according to the report. He was arrested by police. Meanwhile, interference attempt stargeting practitioners has also reached government officials, with several politicians at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels having received false emails impersonating Falun Gong practitioners in recent years. These emails used irrational language, according to the Falun Dafa Association of Canada. 'As the West grew more adept at identifying and countering direct CCP propaganda against Falun Gong and it became increasingly clear that Chinese officials involved in the dissemination of such propaganda could be held accountable, the regime resorted to a new tactic: impersonating Falun Gong practitioners and sending elected officials bizarre or aggravating emails designed to discredit the group,' reads the 2024 report. It adds that, over the years, the Falun Dafa Association of Canada has received more than a dozen variations of such false emails forwarded by Canadian elected officials. Intimidation of practitioners' relatives in China has also been a common tactic of transnational repression. In one case, a practitioner in Canada who spoke at a 2010 press conference outside the Chinese Consulate in her city about the persecution she experienced in China reported that local police contacted her husband in China shortly after the press conference to discuss her 'anti-CCP' activities. He was visited again later, prompting him to urge her to stop speaking out in Canada, she said. Ending Transnational Repression A number of Canadian officials have repeatedly called for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong and expressed support for practitioners' efforts to raise awareness. One of them is Conservative MP James Bezan, one of the statement's signatories, who participated in this year's commemoration of World Falun Dafa Day. 'We acknowledged the resilience, strength, and perseverance of the millions of Falun Gong practitioners [who are being] persecuted by Beijing's communist regime in China and those who have escaped to Canada [who] are targeted by their operatives of the Chinese government,' he said in a May 29 social media post. Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, a Canadian NGO, also called for an end to the 26-year persecution of Falun Gong, noting that millions of practitioners of this 'peaceful spiritual community' have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed, including through forced organ harvesting. 'What began as a brutal domestic crackdown has evolved into a wide-reaching, systematic effort to suppress Falun Gong practitioners both inside China and abroad, including here in Canada,' the organization said in a July 21 statement. 'We stand in solidarity with the Falun Gong community in Canada and around the world, who continue to endure surveillance, harassment, disinformation, and repression simply for exercising their fundamental rights.' At this year's G7 leaders' summit in Canada, world leaders issued a joint statement condemning the rise of transnational repression, saying they are 'deeply concerned' about foreign governments targeting dissidents abroad. They vowed to counter this threat, saying it 'often impacts dissidents, journalists, human rights defenders, religious minorities, and those identified as part of diaspora communities.' The persecution of Falun Gong and its expansion abroad is an example of the need to counter this form of repression, the joint statement from the parliamentarians said. 'The CCP's campaign against Falun Gong clearly exemplifies the very dangers the G7 has called on the world to resist together,' it says. Joint Statement The following is the joint statement signed by 53 Canadian parliamentarians. Condemning the CCP's Escalating Transnational Repression Against Falun Gong We, the undersigned Parliamentarians, stand in solidarity with the Falun Gong community and strongly condemn the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) escalating transnational repression (TNR) and ongoing, 26-year persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong—also known as Falun Dafa—is a peaceful spiritual practice based on the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Since 1999, the CCP has attempted to eliminate this faith group through systematic and egregious human rights abuses. In 2025, bomb and mass shooting threats were sent to venues hosting Shen Yun—a classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners—in four Canadian cities, among over 140 such incidents reported globally. Some of these threats have been traced to sources in China. These acts are part of a broader, global CCP-led campaign of sabotage aimed at suppressing Falun Gong and Shen Yun. Over the past 26 years, Falun Gong practitioners in Canada have endured surveillance, harassment, intimidation, assault, disinformation, cyberattacks, and other forms of CCP repression. These actions not only harm the Falun Gong community and disrupt Shen Yun, but also threatens the integrity of Canada's institutions, sovereignty, and core democratic values. In the statement issued on June 17, 2025, the G7 Leaders affirmed their commitment to protect communities and condemned transnational repression as a serious threat to rights and freedoms, national security, and state sovereignty. The CCP's campaign against Falun Gong clearly exemplifies the very dangers the G7 has called on the world to resist together.
Epoch Times
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
Gan Jing World Presents Film Tribute to Falun Gong Resisting Persecution
In response to an outpouring of worldwide support, Gan Jing World has extended its online film series, 'July 20: A Film Tribute to Falun Gong Resisting Persecution and Defending Freedom.' The expanded lineup runs through July 27 and features four additional award-winning movie dramas and documentaries that spotlight ongoing human rights abuses in China. The extended series continues to offer free daily livestreams twice a day, presenting powerful stories that document the 26-year-long persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline rooted in meditation and the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The response to the film series has been 'overwhelming, with audiences around the world showing tremendous support and engagement,' reads the event page on Gan Jing World. The original four-day series ran from July 17 to 20. The new titles running from July 24 to 27 include a mix of documentaries and dramas that reveal the scope of persecution—and the strength of those who resist it. 'Twenty-six years have passed, yet millions of practitioners inside and outside China continue to uphold their faith with peaceful resilience,' the events page states. 'What kind of inner strength enables people to stand against tyranny without retaliation? What kind of conviction inspires them to safeguard the right to tell the truth, no matter the cost?' Films in the tribute series are available for free, airing twice daily at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET through July 27 at Extended Film Lineup July 24 – Canaries in a Cold War This documentary follows musician and activist James H. White as he travels to Washington to write a song in protest of the Beijing Winter Olympics. After hearing harrowing testimony from three sisters tortured in China, White travels to Europe, where he uncovers a sinister global web of media silence around ongoing abuses. July 25 – Memories A dramatic retelling of the historic 1999 peaceful appeal in Beijing—one of China's largest demonstrations for freedom of belief—'Memories' captures the courage of tens of thousands who petitioned for the right to practice Falun Gong. The story follows Zhang Xiaoyue, who overcame a difficult childhood marked by poverty and abandonment. When her estranged father resurfaced with plans to sell her for money, a compassionate aunt intervened and changed her fate. Years later, Xiaoyue, now a prosecutor, unexpectedly crosses paths with her former rescuer during a trial—only to discover that the kind aunt who once saved her is now the subject of her investigation. July 26 – Where Are You Set against the backdrop of modern-day China, this drama follows a woman's determined and courageous search for her missing husband. As she navigates a harrowing path of truth and love, she confronts the forces that tore her family apart, all while discovering her own resilience. July 27 – Hard to Believe This investigative documentary explores the mass harvesting of organs from Chinese prisoners of conscience, particularly Falun Gong practitioners. It challenges the silence of the international medical community and questions: Why has the international medical community failed to intervene? A Look Back at the Films The initial lineup included a different set of films. 'Each film reveals the untold stories of courage and perseverance amidst ongoing human rights atrocities. Some are crafted by acclaimed directors, others told by firsthand witnesses—but all are united in truth,' the events page states. Coming for You II: The Eternal 50 Minutes (July 17) Based on true events, a maliciously planned fire sets off a national movement. A group of ordinary individuals accomplishes a magnificent feat. Human Harvest (July 18) When reports first emerged from China in 2006 that state-run hospitals were killing prisoners of conscience to sell their organs, it seemed too horrible to believe. But as researchers around the world—including human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Member of Parliament David Kilgour—began to uncover the mystery, the true picture became all too clear. Their evidence suggests that tens of thousands of innocent people have been killed on demand to supply an ongoing illegal organ transplant industry. That Which We Pass On (July 19) A hospital diagnosis shatters the world of a brother and sister who rely solely on each other for survival. In a desperate attempt to raise money for his sister's treatment, the brother faces one blow after another—no matter how hard he tries, misfortune seems inescapable. But then, a mysterious letter arrives—and it may change the fate of two families forever. Letter from Masanjia (July 20) An Oregon woman finds an SOS note from a Chinese dissident in a package of Halloween decorations from Kmart, setting off a chain of events that would shut down the entire labor camp system in China and ignite the note-writer's dangerous quest to expose a deadly persecution. About Gan Jing World Gan Jing World —meaning 'clean' world in Chinese—is a tech platform dedicated to wholesome content and digital well-being. With a non-addictive algorithm and a strict privacy-first model, it promotes uplifting media across news, entertainment, education, and civic discourse. The platform pledges to reconnect users with traditional values while protecting children and families in a safe digital space.
Epoch Times
23-07-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Day in Photos: Protests in Gambia, Detention of Illegal Immigrant, and Peace Talks Between Ukraine and Russia
Open sidebar Save By Epoch Times Staff | July 23, 2025Updated:July 23, 2025 Share this article Leave a comment More Photo Pages see more Day in Photos: GOP Press Conference, Flood in the Philippines, and Fishing Cat Day in Photos: Bangladesh Air Crash, Belgian National Day, and Releasing Turtles Into the Sea America in Photos: Remembering Persecution Victims, Funeral for Texas Sisters, and Largest Mars Rock Day in Photos: Floods in India, Vehicle Drives Into Crowd, and 125th Anniversary of Paris Metro Day in Photos: Fire in France, School Bus Crash, and World Aquatics Championships Day in Photos: Falun Dafa Parade, Royal Salute, Civilian Drill in Taiwan Day in Photos: Heavy Rains in Mexico, Clashes in Syria, and Lavender Harvest Day in Photos: Amphibious Landing Rehearsal, Grand Canyon Fire, End of San Fermin Day in Photos: Heavy Rains in Pakistan, Bastille Day Military Parade, and Counting Swans on the Thames To ensure we reach the high standards of reliability and neutrality that you expect from us, we are engaging with Ad Fontes Media to analyze our content. If you find an article you think falls short of the standard, please submit the link through this form. Copyright © 2000 - 2025 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved.
