In response to a New York Times article published on Dec. 29, 2024, the Falun Dafa Information Center issued the following statement as an organization representing the Falun Gong community and maintaining contact with Falun Dafa Associations in the United States and around the world. Please see here for a statement from Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Dear Reader,
We awoke on Sunday to a dismaying reality—another article by the New York Times that distorts the beliefs of Falun Gong practitioners. Moreover, the piece seems deliberate in its attempt to paint Falun Gong’s founder, the nonprofit artistic initiative Shen Yun, and the broader Falun Gong community in a patently false light. The sweeping image depicted—of a group of blind believers duped into donating their life savings—could not be further from the lived reality and experience of the vast majority of Falun Gong practitioners.
To be clear, we practice Falun Gong because of the profound health benefits and personal spiritual growth we have experienced. Not because we were duped. We volunteer our time—and some may make donations out of goodwill—to nonprofits and other efforts exposing the persecution because we have witnessed family members and friends in China suffer torture and death for over 25 years. Not because we were duped. We support Shen Yun because of its ability to inspire millions, bring hope, and revive a lost culture nearly destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Not because we were duped. The implication that Falun Gong practitioners are mindless and hoodwinked zealots is an insult to the intelligence of tens of millions of people worldwide.
Falun Gong’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, has dedicated his life to benefiting others and to sharing the tenets of the Buddhist-like spiritual practice with the general public. Mr. Li does not receive any income from Falun Gong-affiliated companies, including Shen Yun, which is a nonprofit organization. All Falun Gong books and instructional videos are also available online for free in over 40 languages and all Falun Gong conferences are free of charge to attend. It is clear that financial gain has never been his motivation.
Before the CCP began its politicized persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Li received recognitions from the Chinese government for donating to various funds and for treating people’s illnesses for free in the 1990s. After the repression began in China, his contributions to nonviolent resistance have earned international accolades, including four Nobel Peace Prize nominations, Freedom House’s International Religious Freedom Award, and a nomination by the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
What is noteworthy in the Times article is what is missing. Although the entirety of the piece appears aimed at falsely depicting Falun Gong-affiliated organizations as money-making operations for Mr. Li, there is no evidence demonstrating this. What the article relies on are a smattering of anecdotes and independent financial transactions, which are then used to imply financial benefit, without solid evidence or proof.
We are also deeply disturbed by the timing of the Times’ reporting—coming amidst a wide-ranging campaign involving direction from top CCP officials, Beijing-backed YouTubers, and nearly daily graphic threats targeting Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun performers and venues. Chinese officials have explicitly articulated their goal of smearing the reputation of Falun Gong and Shen Yun—including via media reports by outlets without visible ties to the regime—to “eliminate” the practice globally. For years, the paper has ignored the suffering of Falun Gong practitioners in China and according to at least one former Times’ journalist, deliberately curbed reporting about the brutality meted out against millions of ordinary Chinese who practice Falun Gong.
Never in the past 25 years, as millions have been detained, tortured, or killed across China, has the Times dedicated this amount of time and resources to a Falun Gong-related story. Yet now, the paper is turning its “investigative” prowess against those victims, precisely when Chinese officials have stated their intent to trigger negative reporting by activating CCP agents and other subterfuge.
We hope that kind-hearted people can see through the CCP’s and the Times’ distortions. We share the following points in the spirit of offering those concerned by the Times’ reporting a clearer view of Falun Gong and the challenges facing practitioners. We will not stop practicing our faith, trying to rescue fellow believers and loved ones in China, or challenging the CCP’s harmful propaganda in any nonviolent and creative way that we can.
Thank you for your attention and support,
Levi Browde, Executive Director of the Falun Dafa Information Center
Dr. Larry Liu, Deputy Director of Government and Advocacy, Falun Dafa Information Center
Five points to keep in mind:
1. The brutal persecution in China is real and a daily reality for Falun Gong practitioners worldwide.
All Falun Gong practitioners, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere routinely feel the impact of the CCP’s violent and illegal persecution in China. Many believers now living in the diaspora have themselves experienced arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment in China. Some also have family who are currently jailed, arbitrarily tortured, or were killed for their faith by the CCP—including husbands, mothers, children, sisters, or nephews. Even for practitioners who are not Chinese, many have friends, colleagues, and in-laws who have experienced persecution firsthand and are still grappling with the aftershocks.
These systemic abuses have been widely documented by Chinese lawyers, international human rights groups, independent experts, and U.S. government reports, while even being referenced on local Chinese government websites.
2. The New York Times and other mainstream media have virtually ignored the regime’s rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners in China for years.
With the exception of a 2009 article on the 10th anniversary of the persecution, the Times has not in the past two decades seriously examined the rampant and life-threatening violations the CCP has committed against Falun Gong practitioners in China. In this context, Falun Gong practitioners have tried to organize and find creative and nonviolent ways to help their family and believers in China, and to help Chinese people and those around the world to stop participating in the persecution and to see through the CCP’s harmful and false propaganda. This stems from a deeply held belief common in many faiths—that good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds, especially the violent persecution and killing of innocent people, are punished, if not in this life, then after death.
It is strange and disconcerting that the Times has never invested the kind of resources into documenting this reality as it has now turned towards trying to uncover so-called “dark secrets” among Falun Gong.
3. As a faith, Falun Gong is less strict and controlling than almost any other religion.
There are no clergy, there are no churches, there are no tithes or required donations, and there is no formal membership or conversion ceremony. Falun Gong is free and open to all. Anyone can read the spiritual teachings for free online and learn the exercises from online videos or at a practice site run by volunteers.
Solicitation of donations is not allowed in the Falun Gong community. Mr. Li has explicitly stated in his teachings that Falun Gong practitioners should not offer gifts to his family members and that those holding regular jobs should not donate funds to Shen Yun.
Practicing Falun Gong is a personal decision and like any large community, a diverse contingent of people with various backgrounds have come to practice. And while the vast majority have experienced immense benefits—not only in terms of physical health, but also mental well-being and improved relationships—there are also some who have found that Falun Gong is a not a good fit for them. The Times adeptly sought them out—including interviewees with ties to Beijing-backed YouTubers—cherry-picking their accounts and amplifying their grievances.
4. Falun Gong believers are not duped.
Falun Gong practitioners do not follow Mr. Li’s teachings out of simple blind belief. If that were the case, Falun Gong would never have survived one of the most violent and vicious instances of religious persecution in recent memory. Yet the Times seeks to portray Falun Gong as cultish and Shen Yun as some grand money-making scheme, ignoring lived reality and experts’ writings on the nature of Falun Gong. Like disciples of other faiths, Falun Gong adherents have had deeply personal spiritual and other life experiences that reaffirm their beliefs.
The community is also extremely diverse. Unlike the portrayal in the Times, many practitioners are very well-educated, with advanced degrees in the hard sciences from top universities. They have watched Shen Yun performances and been personally moved. They have seen audience members—of diverse religious backgrounds—expressing gushing appreciation for the show’s inspiring message of hope and spirituality. This motivates a spirit of volunteerism to support the endeavor by hosting performances or selling tickets. Falun Gong practitioners are not ignorant fanatics being deceived by a guru, as the Times’ mocking portrayal implies.
5. The Times is missing the real story and the CCP is benefiting.
Whether wittingly or not, this reporting reeks of CCP influence and echoes Chinese state media’s routine talking points which demonize Falun Gong, and incite hatred, social ostracism, and violence. It is horrifying to see a leading U.S. paper echo that framing and bring anti-Falun Gong discrimination to American shores.
The Times seems to be trying to take what should be celebrated—an attitude of volunteerism and a creative, world-class dance troupe bringing a message of faith and hope to millions—and to present it as some kind of exploitative, money-making scheme. It is doing so without any apparent regard for the consequences of its actions. Its irresponsible reporting has already harmed Falun Gong practitioners, including those in China where the regime has translated and disseminated the paper’s past articles to fuel hatred and violence. But the impact of the Times’ problematic distortions is more far-reaching. They harm would-be audience members in the United States and around the world who would benefit from Shen Yun’s artistry, beauty, and optimistic messages, as well as readers who might otherwise appreciate how a spiritual and meditative practice like Falun Gong could improve their lives.
The CCP could not have imagined a better ally than the Times in its latest campaign to eliminate Falun Gong globally.
Additional resources to explore:
- “Launching A Knockout Punch: An Unprecedented CCP Campaign to Sabotage Shen Yun, Eliminate Falun Gong Globally”
- INCIDENT TRACKER: Monitoring the CCP’s Latest Transnational Repression and Disinformation Campaign against Falun Gong, Shen Yun
- Misconceptions: What’s behind the ‘cult’ label?
- 10 Things to Know About The New York Times’ “Investigation” of Shen Yun, Falun Gong
- VIDEO: In Their Own Words