New York City’s Union Square came alive with music, dance, and vibrant colors on May 11 as more than a thousand local Falun Gong practitioners gathered to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day.
The day, observed annually on May 13, marks the introduction of the spiritual practice Falun Gong to the public in China in 1992. The practice, also known as Falun Dafa, includes teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It quickly became popular in China, growing to include tens of millions of practitioners by 1999. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceiving this popularity as a threat to the regime’s rule, started a brutal persecution of the group that same year.
In Manhattan, the festivities began in the morning, with some practitioners arriving to do Falun Gong’s five meditative exercises. In the afternoon, a marching band kicked off the celebration, followed by performances by dance groups, a waist-drum troupe, and musical ensembles.
Zhang Erping, spokesperson for the nonprofit Falun Dafa Information Center, said Falun Gong is now practiced in 159 countries around the world.
“This practice not only makes people healthy physically and mentally, but most importantly, in today’s chaotic society, many people have found hope, purpose, and meaning of life through Falun Dafa. As a result, it attracts people of all nationalities, ethnicities, and age groups,” Zhang told The Epoch Times.
Xing Kebin, who lives in the Queens borough of New York City, participated in the meditative exercises. He said he started practicing Falun Gong after suffering a broken arm in a skiing incident in 2019 and soon found the spiritual discipline brought him a deeper sense of purpose.
Xing Kebin demonstrates one of Falun Gong's exercise movements at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Zhao Fenni/The Epoch Times
“I have found the ultimate meaning of life,” Xing told The Epoch Times.
Sand Zhu, who participated in a dragon and lion dance at the event, said he took up the practice with his mother when he was young. Now married, he recalled that following Falun Gong’s teachings helped him to become a better student.
Sand Zhu and his wife at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Zhao Fenni/The Epoch Times
“My mind became calmer, and my grades kept improving,” Zhu told The Epoch Times.
Since the start of the persecution in China, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, with hundreds of thousands suffering tortured while incarcerated, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. Many have been persecuted to death, including an unknown number who have been killed for their organs to fuel the Chinese regime’s lucrative transplantation industry.
A marching band performs during World Falun Dafa Day celebrations at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Sarah Matheson, a legal aide working in New York, joined the festivities with her 14-year-old daughter. Matheson said she has been practicing Falun Gong for nearly 20 years and that its main text, “Zhuan Falun,” answered many of her questions about life.
Matheson said she appreciated the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent action to address China’s persecution.
“I'd really like to thank all the elected officials who voted for the Falun Gong Protection Act [that recently passed] the House. We just hope that the Senate will pass it this year as well. And then we can really help end the persecution in China,” Matheson told NTD, a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times.
Sarah Matheson at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Zhao Fenni/The Epoch Times
The House on May 5 passed the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R. 1540) by voice vote with no objections. The act includes provisions to sanction individuals implicated in the forced harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners.
The Senate version of the legislation (S.817) was introduced in March.
Sarah Cook, a former China research director at Freedom House and author of the 2017 Freedom House report “The Battle for China’s Spirit,” took to social media platform X on May 6 to say the Senate should pass the legislation swiftly.
“Great to see this legislation pass the House, and with bipartisan support,” Cook wrote. “Hope it can get through the Senate quickly and into law, then really have an impact. It includes key provisions on transparency and accountability for horrific abuses that have gone on far too long.”
A separate event celebrating World Falun Dafa Day was held in the city on May 9, when thousands of Falun Gong practitioners marched across Manhattan in a parade starting at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 47th Street on the east side of the city and ending just near the Chinese Consulate on 42nd Street by the Hudson River.
A performance commemorating World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
A performance commemorating World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
A performance commemorating World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
A performance commemorating World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City on May 11, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Zhao Fenni and NTD contributed to this report.
Frank Fang
journalist
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
