US Lawmakers Voice Support for Falun Gong on 27th Anniversary of Peaceful Appeal in Beijing

‘The CCP’s brutal effort to stamp out the Falun Gong will be remembered as one of the worst crimes of the 21st century,’ Rep. Chris Smith said.

Falun Gong practitioners attend a parade to call for the end of the persecution in China and commemorate the 26th anniversary of the April 25, 1999, appeal in Beijing, in the Flushing neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., on April 19, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times

A group of lawmakers has expressed solidarity with Falun Gong practitioners on the 27th anniversary of a peaceful protest in China, an event whose impact still reverberates today.

The peaceful gathering, now known as the April 25 appeal, took place on that day in 1999. It marked one of the largest protests in communist China’s recent history, as about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in the capital Beijing, seeking to secure the release of detained adherents and the right to practice their beliefs freely.

The event did not lead to expanded freedoms. Less than three months later, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution against the group. The persecution continues unabated to this day, with some experts describing it as a “cold genocide.”

“Each and every day—and especially on April 25th—we honor and remember the unwavering courage and conviction of Falun Gong practitioners worldwide, who continue to endure the Chinese Communist Party’s cruel campaign of persecution, defamation, and transnational repression,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), cochair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), said in a statement.

“The CCP’s brutal effort to stamp out the Falun Gong will be remembered as one of the worst crimes of the 21st century.”

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), after a hearing about the Chinese Communist Party's practice of forced organ harvesting, in Washington on March 20, 2024. York Du/The Epoch Times

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline with slow-moving exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. It was introduced to the public in China in 1992 and spread rapidly through word of mouth across the country. By the end of the decade, at least 70 million people took up the practice, according to official estimates at the time.

Early on, China’s state-run media cast Falun Gong in a favorable light. A 1993 article in China Today, a state-run magazine, described its broad appeal, noting that practitioners came from all walks of life and included military personnel, government officials, professors, and students. In November 1998, state-run publication Yangcheng Evening News reported that about 5,000 people gathered in a park to practice Falun Gong exercises.

That report would be among the last instances of favorable coverage of Falun Gong in China.

On April 11, 1999, a college in Tianjin, a city adjacent to Beijing, published an article in its school magazine that criticized the practice. The publication prompted Falun Gong practitioners in the city to seek out local government officials and school representatives to address the misleading allegations made in the article.

Later the same month, Tianjin’s Public Security Bureau dispatched riot police, who used force against Falun Gong practitioners who had gathered, resulting in 45 arrests.

Police brutality in Tianjin quickly spread. On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Beijing seeking the release of the Tianjin detainees and asking for the freedom to practice their beliefs. After a meeting between CCP officials and five Falun Gong representatives at the State Council, Tianjin authorities complied with the request.

However, less than three months later, on July 20, 1999, the CCP launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. At the same time, China’s state-run media began to publish propaganda about the peaceful appeal, often describing it as a “siege” against the CCP regime.

“As we mark the anniversary of the 1999 peaceful appeal in Beijing, we remember the courage of more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners who peaceably stood for their beliefs in the face of repression,” Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), who serves on the House Select Committee on the CCP, said in a statement.

“The United States stands firmly with those facing religious persecution in China and around the globe.”

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) speaks at a press conference and rally in front of the America ChangLe Association, highlighting Beijing's transnational repression, in New York City on Feb. 25, 2023. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Since the persecution began, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained in prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, and hundreds of thousands have been tortured while incarcerated, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. Many have been persecuted to death, and others have been victims of China’s state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting.

Accountability

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong “brutal and senseless,” according to a statement.

“The Chinese people have continued to endure horrific acts under the communist regime” since the peaceful protest 27 years ago, Scott added.

“The United States and every other freedom-loving country on Earth must take a stand and demand accountability for the CCP’s despicable religious persecution and forced organ harvesting, and work to put an end to Communist China’s blatant human rights violations,” he said.

Scott was one of the cosponsors of the Falun Gong Protection Act. The legislation, reintroduced in March 2025, would hold accountable individuals involved in the forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners by imposing targeted sanctions such as visa restrictions, fines of up to $1 million, and 20 years in prison.

Rep. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 4, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), who serves on the CECC and the House Select Committee on the CCP, called the Chinese regime’s practice of forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners “abhorrent,” according to a statement.

“Twenty-seven years ago, the Chinese Communist Party launched a brutal campaign against Falun Gong practitioners, using a peaceful call for freedom as its pretext,” Nunn said.

“The United States stands firmly with Falun Gong practitioners.

“I will keep working to hold Beijing accountable until this persecution ends.”

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) speaks to reporters after a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 15, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

In 2020, the China Tribunal—an independent, London-based people’s tribunal—concluded that the Chinese regime had for years been forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience, identifying Falun Gong practitioners as the primary victims.

Smith added that he would continue to hold hearings, introduce legislation, and call upon the U.S. government to “prioritize human rights in U.S.–China relations.”

“The world must not look away. The CCP must be held accountable, and the atrocities against the Falun Gong must end,” Smith said.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, said he remains “deeply concerned” about religious minorities, political dissidents, artists, journalists, and human rights advocates who are facing persecution in China.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) participates in a ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 19, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“America stands with those who seek to chart their own democratic future, speak their mind, and exercise their freedom of worship and conscience without fear of penalty or retribution,” he said.

Tiffany pointed out that the CCP has subjected some Falun Gong practitioners to criminal penalties.

Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website that tracks the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, reported 751 new cases of prison sentences against practitioners in 2025. One of the longest sentences—eight years—was handed to Meng Qingjie, a 72-year-old retired elementary school teacher, in March 2025.

Tiffany was one of the cosponsors of the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R.1540), which passed the House in May 2025.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 11, 2023. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who serves as chairman emeritus of both the House Foreign Affairs and House Homeland Security committees, noted that the CCP has “brutally suppressed any form of dissent.”

“Today, on the anniversary of Falun Gong’s peaceful protests on April 25, 1999, I strongly condemn the CCP’s​ ongoing oppression of these practitioners and vow to stand with all victims of the CCP’s tyranny,” McCaul said.

Eva Fu contributed to this report.