On July 20, 2025, Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered in Philadelphia’s Chinatown to commemorate 26 years of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice consisting of meditation and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

The rally spotlighted the brutality of the CCP’s continued persecution, including torture, forced labor, forced organ harvesting, and transnational repression targeting Falun Gong practitioners overseas as well as in the United States. During the event, survivors shared their testimonies, and local leaders called for action to address the CCP’s human rights abuses.

On July 20, 1999, the CCP began a brutal suppression campaign against Falun Gong, outlawing the practice and targeting its tens of millions of adherents for imprisonment, torture, and forced labor. Reports of forced organ harvesting from detained practitioners began to emerge in 2006 and have since drawn international condemnation.

Two Falun Gong practitioners at the rally shared their personal experiences of being persecuted by the CCP for their practice in China.

Shen Lichun, who began practicing Falun Gong in 1995, amid a boom in the practice’s popularity when the CCP still supported and even promoted the practice, credited the meditation practice with curing her chronic illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis and neurosis. However, after the CCP turned on the practice in 1999, she was subjected to a total of nearly 13 years of illegal detention, she said.

“I was kidnapped more than nine times, illegally detained, had my home searched, and was fired from my jobs many times,” Shen told The Epoch Times. She endured forced labor in detention centers, sewing clothes and making Christmas lights under inhumane conditions. Shen described working from 4 a.m. to midnight, while facing beatings and electric shocks for failing to meet quotas. The prolonged abuse eventually caused heart failure and severe physical deterioration, she said.

“I was so thin that I was skin and bones, and so weak that I could hardly walk,” she recalled.

Yang Jingfang, 78, who started practicing Falun Gong in 1993, faced similar persecution after the CCP’s about-face. She was imprisoned twice for a total of four years, including 32 consecutive days of sleep deprivation that caused her to faint.

Since fleeing the communist country 18 years ago, Yang has lived in the United States. She said police continue to harass her relatives in China.

“The evil CCP is a devil and a cult,” she said, praising the freedom she found in America while condemning the CCP’s attempts to violate the sovereignty of other countries in its campaign against Falun Gong.

Supporter Pleas for Justice

Aaron Bashir, president of American Real Voice PAC, delivered a speech at the rally, inspired by his Christian faith to stand with the persecuted Falun Gong community. He described the CCP’s actions as a “moral outrage,” noting that “a lot of people [are] blind to that because they don’t know about it.” Bashir vowed to be a voice for the voiceless, telling The Epoch Times: “I’m here to support them. I’m here to show my solidarity, my unity, and I’m here to become their voice, because I believe Jesus has taught me to love others.”

Bashir lauded the Falun Gong practitioners’ commitment over the past 26 years to peacefully resist persecution, emphasizing the American right to religious freedom.

“Every human being is created in the image of God, and they have this free will to choose and believe what they want to choose and believe in,” he said, arguing that governments should not dictate an individual’s personal beliefs.

As an American, Bashir expressed pride in the U.S. Constitution’s protection of free speech and religion.

Addressing the CCP’s transnational repression, including harassment of practitioners on American soil, Bashir criticized the CCP’s manipulation of American media.

“The facts are, the Falun Gong community is being targeted. The Falun Gong community is being tortured. A lot of organ harvesting has been happening for decades,” he told The Epoch Times.

He urged media outlets to conduct independent investigations of these abuses.

“Do your own investigative journalism here to all these groups. Look at the facts. Go and directly interview those people who have been affected and who have been really tortured. Then you will know the truth,” he said.

Bashir called for Pennsylvania to follow the U.S. House’s lead in passing the Falun Gong Protection Act and the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, urging state-level legislation to curb the atrocities.

“The state government should pass resolutions condemning the CCP’s human rights abuses and work to ensure that Chinese Americans here, especially in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, are free from transnational repression,” he said.

He advocated for local policies to raise awareness and protect practitioners, such as supporting community education programs and collaborating with federal authorities to counter CCP interference.

“We cannot allow the CCP’s tactics of intimidation and misinformation to take root in our state,” he said, calling for unity to safeguard Pennsylvania’s values of freedom and justice.

Reflecting on the rally’s impact, Bashir emphasized its role in raising awareness.

“This is how people know that something is happening around the world that they are not aware of,” he said, encouraging continued events to highlight global human rights issues.

He concluded with a call to action: “Please help the Falun Gong community. They are your brothers and sisters. We are all one human family. ... We should be their voice, and we should make sure that our voices [are] heard strongly around the world.”

Onlookers Offer Support

Passersby who were moved by the event voiced their support for the Falun Gong practitioners.

Alexis Sleggs, a New York college student studying psychology, said that this was the first time she had heard about the persecution.

“It’s good to be aware of issues going on around the world. ... It allows you to think more about how it’s affecting other people,” she told The Epoch Times.

After hearing about the facts of forced organ harvesting taking place in China, which she called “awful,” she said she plans to discuss the issue at her college to foster dialogue and push for change through political activism.

Ehab Aiqtam, a medical researcher from Yemen, found parallels with his own community’s struggles, calling the persecution of Falung Gong practitioners “terrible.” As a medical professional, he said he was appalled by the concept of organ harvesting.

“You cannot put a price tag on somebody’s organs, and you can’t just snatch it out of prisoners,” he said.

Aiqtam said he intends to share information and documentaries with his lab colleagues and called for the United Nations’ intervention to address the crisis.

Alex Parada, a Philadelphia college student, was already familiar with the CCP’s tactics, describing it as “one of the most evil, vile regimes on the face of this planet.” He condemned the organ harvesting and transnational repression, urging greater awareness in Chinatowns around the world—which the CCP often uses as hubs for its foreign influence operations—and direct engagement with U.S. leaders.

“I really want to work with people from around the globe to spread awareness of authoritarian evil regimes,” Parada told The Epoch Times, pledging to collaborate with others to support the cause.