Finland Condemns Former Hong Kong Chief’s Threat Against Falun Gong, Calling It ‘Unacceptable’

‘Intimidation of or threats against the civil society are not acceptable,’ Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs told The Epoch Times.

Leung Chun-ying, former Hong Kong chief executive and his wife, Regina Leung Tong Ching-yee, in a confrontational exchange with Falun Gong practitioners in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, on Aug. 13, 2025. Courtesy of Helsinki Falun Gong practitioners

Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs responded to threats made by a former Hong Kong leader at Falun Gong practitioners in a public park, describing it as “unfortunate” and “unacceptable.”

“Finland is an open society where freedom of assembly and expression are fundamental rights, protected by the constitution,” the ministry told The Epoch Times. “Intimidation of or threats against the civil society are not acceptable.”

Days earlier, Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s chief executive from 2012 to 2017 and now vice chairman of communist China’s top political advisory body, walked up to a Falun Gong information booth in Helsinki’s Sibelius Park, a tourist attraction where practitioners of the faith were collecting signatures from the public to counter the ongoing human rights abuses against Falun Gong in China.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Its practitioners are often seen meditating in parks.

While millions around the world practice the faith, Falun Gong practitioners in China have been subject to brutal persecution under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999, with millions estimated to have experienced abuse. U.S. authorities under both the Trump and Biden administrations have imposed sanctions on CCP officials for their involvement in human rights abuses against Falun Gong.

Throughout its 76-year history, the CCP has persecuted and sought to control faith and conscience groups that it views as a threat to its power—an abuse that has been common to communist regimes throughout history.

Leung became confrontational and asked for the names of the people present at the park after a Falun Gong practitioner greeted him at the booth, according to the practitioner.

“Once we have your names, we can immediately look you up once we are back, one by one,” Leung said in a video obtained by The Epoch Times.

When one Falun Gong practitioner expressed disagreement, Leung turned to her. “Who do you think you are?” he said.

The incident has heightened anxiety among Falun Gong practitioners locally and internationally, many of whom fled the communist regime’s persecution in China. One practitioner present, who had escaped China after living for years in fear, voiced concern for his family members who remain in the country.

Regina Leung Tong Ching-yee, wife of former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying, in a confrontational exchange with Falun Gong practitioners in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, on Aug. 13, 2025. Courtesy of Helsinki Falun Gong practitioners

While Falun Gong is freely practiced in the West, the Chinese regime has ordered its agents overseas to expand their repression.

Taiwan has recently sentenced a man for collecting intelligence on Falun Gong’s founder, and U.S. authorities have sentenced three men who helped gather the personal information of Falun Gong practitioners and their attempts to undermine the community.

A former Chinese spy who defected to Australia told The Epoch Times that his handler had asked him to locate a Thailand-based Falun Gong practitioner in 2021. The regime had supplied him with a number of photos showing the target with his family.