| | | | Dear Reader,
Chen Yan, at the age of 45, died in Liaoning Women's Prison within three days. Her parents were unspeakably heartbroken in their grief when they saw marks of torture on her dead body. According to the lawyer, Chen was assaulted by prison guards until she threw up blood.
Chen was one of 62 Falun Gong practitioners who died in 2025 due to the regime's brutal persecution. Details of over sixty additional deaths emerged during the year; they had occurred earlier but were previously unknown due to tight censorship.
Also in this issue:
An American lawyer published an analysis on the 25th anniversary of the supposed Tiananmen Square "self-immolation," describing it a CCP-staged "deepfake". Transnational repression targeting Falun Gong has seen a surge in recent months, with tactics like anonymous death threats, defamation from CCP officials, and the spread of disinformation. The Jamestown Foundation's China Brief details Beijing Dance Academy's overseas partnerships as instruments of CCP's political influence abroad, with implications for Shen Yun and Falun Gong.
Finally, we're excited to share a months-long project: an explainer video on Beijing's influence campaign targeting Americans. | | | Sincerely, |  | Levi Browde, Executive Director
Falun Dafa Information Center | | | | | FEATURE STORY | 124 Falun Gong Practitioners Reported Dead from Persecution in China in 2025 |  | Photos of some Falun Gong practitioners who died in 2025 as a result of ongoing persecution by Chinese security forces. Source: Minghui.org | What's new?
In 2025, Minghui.org recorded the deaths that at least 124 Falun Gong practitioners in China as a result of ongoing persecution by Chinese security forces. Of these cases, 62 deaths occurred in 2025. The remaining victims died in earlier years but were only confirmed and reported in 2025 due to delays caused by state censorship and information blockades.
The victims included 85 women and 39 men, ranging in age from 35 to 94. Among the 120 cases for which age information was available, the vast majority were elderly. Ninety-eight practitioners—more than four-fifths—were aged 60 or older, including three individuals over 90, highlighting the fatal impact of the regime's arrests and imprisonment for senior citizens.
Prior to their deaths, nearly all of the victims had been subjected to illegal detention, imprisonment, or confinement in facilities such as prisons, detention centers, brainwashing centers, or psychiatric hospitals, where they endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse. Twenty-three practitioners died while in custody, and reports indicate that 13 were injected with toxic or unknown substances. Others died after their release as a result of injuries incurred in detention or other police harassment.
Geographically, the reported deaths spanned 24 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China, reflecting the nationwide scope of the persecution. Heilongjiang Province recorded the highest number of deaths at 18.
Why does it matter?
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Minghui.org reported that 5,302 Falun Gong practitioners had died due to the persecution since 1999. These deaths represent the most extreme manifestation of a broader, systematic campaign carried out by Chinese security forces against individuals who practice Falun Gong.
The true scale of the death toll is widely believed to be far higher. Strict state censorship, intimidation of families and witnesses, and the suppression of independent investigations make comprehensive documentation exceedingly difficult. This is particularly true for cases involving organ harvesting and deaths in custody, where access to information is tightly controlled and evidence is often concealed or destroyed.
What else do you need to know?
One recent case underscores the acute risks faced by elderly Falun Gong practitioners in custody. Ms. Zhang Fengxian (张凤仙), an 81-year-old Falun Gong practitioner in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, died on Dec. 18, 2025 under suspicious circumstances after being illegally detained for less than 20 days. | | Read more | | | PERSECUTION IN CHINA | | | Falun Gong' "Self-Immolations": 25 Years Since a "Deepfake" on Tiananmen Square | January 23, 2026, marked the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square "self-immolation," a pivotal propaganda event that the CCP used to demonize Falun Gong and justify an intensified crackdown. On that date, Bitter Winter, an Italy-based online magazine focused on religious persecution, published a feature article by American lawyer John Moran examining the incident as a CCP-staged "deepfake."
The op-ed argues that the episode was a deliberate fabrication—an early form of disinformation designed to manipulate public opinion through shocking imagery. While state media claimed that Falun Gong practitioners set themselves on fire, subsequent investigations revealed major inconsistencies, including clear contradictions with Falun Gong teachings, implausible medical claims, a suspiciously prepared police and media presence, and a lack of evidence that the individuals involved were genuine practitioners. The incident succeeded in turning public sentiment against Falun Gong in China and abroad. Moran draws parallels between this staged event 25 years ago and today's AI-driven disinformation campaigns, warning:
"The CCP and other tyrannical governments will continue to use such tactics to sow discord and chaos in the free world if we allow them to do so." | | Read More | | | TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION | January 2026 Transnational Repression Update: Death Threats, Diplomatic Defamation, and Coordinated Disinformation Target Falun Gong and Supporters |  | From December 2025 through mid-January 2026, transnational repression targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts saw a sharp rise.
As Shen Yun's 2026 global touring season began in December 2025, a wave of anonymous and explicit death threats targeted hosting theaters, ticketing services, performers, staff, and related institutions across Taiwan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, Australia, and the United States. At least 17 threats were documented in December 2025—nearly double the number reported during the same month in 2024.
In total, these incidents bring the number of anonymous death threats targeting Falun Gong since March 2024 to 229. Although no physical harm occurred, the threats illustrate sustained efforts to intimidate, discredit, and destabilize Falun Gong communities and supporters worldwide. All incidents have been referred to law enforcement and remain under investigation. | | Read More | | | | TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION | Beijing Dance Academy Dances to the Tune of Zhongnanhai | "For over a decade, Shen Yun successfully performed at SUNY Purchase's Performing Arts Center in New York. In September 2024, however, following SUNY's signing of a student exchange agreement with BDA [Beijing Dance Academy] earlier that year, the theater canceled a contract for Shen Yun's 2025 season."
The episode, cited in a recent article by Dr. Frank Tian Xie in the Jamestown Foundation's China Brief, illustrates how cultural and academic partnerships can become instruments of the CCP's political influence abroad. In "Beijing Dance Academy Dances to the Tune of Zhongnanhai," Xie examines how the BDA is a state-owned institution tightly controlled by the CCP through government funding, Party-dominated leadership, mandatory ideological education, and politicized international exchange programs. The article argues that BDA's overseas partnerships risk exporting Beijing's censorship norms and political pressure into global artistic and academic spaces, as the Shen Yun cancellation starkly demonstrates. | | Read more | Have you read this? The Show Beijing Doesn't Want You to See | This webpage is part of the microsite The Real Story of Shen Yun, developed by the Falun Dafa Information Center to present factual information about Shen Yun and the challenges it faces as a result of the CCP's transnational repression.
It addresses a fundamental question—why the CCP fears Shen Yun—and exposes the regime's tactics through documented cases, firsthand accounts, and verified data.
"Shen Yun speaks truth to power. It shatters Beijing's billion-dollar reputation-washing campaign with a single, breathtaking performance." | | Read more | | | | | | | | In this new 7-minute-video Ben Maloney, our Director of Digital Outreach, outlines how Beijing has shifted from traditional domestic persecution to a transnational repression campaign designed to subvert American institutions.
Maloney details a strategy of "public opinion warfare" that involves bribing officials, flooding social media with disinformation, and inciting meritless lawsuits. He emphasizes that this campaign is a litmus test for American resilience, stating: "If the CCP can do this to Americans who practice Falun Gong, they can go after any group, company, or person in the United States who doesn't bend to their agenda." | | Watch Now | | | | | |
| From ancient roots extending back thousands of years, to a house-hold name in China during the Qigong boom in the 1990s, to the largest grassroots civil disobedience movement in the world, this is the complete story of Falun Gong... | | READ THE STORY | | | THE FALUN GONG STORY | | From ancient roots extending back thousands of years, to a house-hold name in China during the qigong boom in the 1990s, to the largest grassroots civil disobedience
movement in the world, this is the complete story of Falun Gong... | | READ THE STORY | | | | | | | | |
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