NEW YORK CITY—Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners gathered for a parade through the narrow streets and alleys of Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood on July 19 to raise awareness about the persecution of the spiritual practice in China.
Beautiful breezy weather in the 80s brought out many shoppers and tourists in the neighborhood. Many onlookers stopped to take video of the several hundred parade attendees holding large banners who passed by.
Soccer jersey-wearing World Cup fans were among the parade observers, with the World Cup Final set for 3 p.m. the same day, just miles away at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The CCP sought to turn Chinese society against Falun Gong; in the following years, practitioners around the world have spoken out.
Many shopkeepers came to their doors to observe the parade passing along their street, accompanied by gentle, meditative music.
Lisa Liu, a parade participant, was one of a group of people who marched in the parade and at the same time demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises.
“The Chinese government has really influenced the minds of all these Chinese people all over the world,” parade participant Jake Zocco said in an interview, echoing Liu. He and others were there to show that the practice is welcomed around the world; only countries under the control or sway of the CCP prevent people from practicing the peaceful discipline, he said.
Practitioners are exercising religious freedom—what the United States was founded on, he said.
“The principles of the practice—truth, compassion, tolerance—it matters to everyone in the whole world,” he said, referring to the three tenets of the practice. “So the fact that that’s being persecuted really affects the whole world.”
Minghui collected reports of 124 practitioners persecuted to death in China in 2025, while another 4,803 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested or harassed in 2025, according to the website.
For Falun Gong practitioners, every aspect of their lives has been affected, from educational studies, to landing a job, to dealing with misunderstandings within their own family because of extensive CCP propaganda.
