Officials Across US Commemorate World Falun Dafa Day

Officials across the United States extended greetings and congratulations to spiritual discipline Falun Dafa and commended its practitioners for their resilience in the face of brutal repression by the communist regime in China.Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong, is a spiritual discipline rooted in ancient Chinese traditions and based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Longzhi in his native city of Changchun, northern China, on May 13, 1992. Now, it’s practiced by people in more than 100 countries around the world.To mark the occasion ahead of the 34th anniversary of its public introduction, U.S. lawmakers and officials from various states issued proclamations, greeting letters, and citations recognizing the practice’s contribution to people’s well-being and the general appeal of its teachings.“The Falun Dafa philosophy espouses the idea that when the heart is pure, the mind balanced, and the body energized, health and happiness are a natural outcome,” says a resolution adopted in March by the New York State Senate to commemorate World Falun Dafa Day. “Individuals have been empowered to leave behind addictions and bad habits; families, to live in peace together; and communities, to embrace what is virtuous and life-affirming.”Many proclamations and congratulatory letters highlighted decades of volunteer work by practitioners providing free workshops for local communities.“Falun Dafa practitioners offer free exercise instruction through free workshops and outdoor exercises sites, [and] have profoundly touched the lives of many local residents,” read a congratulatory letter from Pennsylvania’s Senate of the Commonwealth. “Many have found Falun Dafa to be life-enhancing and even lifesaving,”To mark this special event, celebrations were held this month across the United States and beyond. In New York, thousands of practitioners marched across Manhattan in a parade on March 13.Yet in its homeland, China, practitioners continue to face constant threats of arrest, arbitrary detention, slave labor, and physical and psychological torture by the Chinese regime.The persecution of Falun Gong was launched by then-Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin in 1999, after authorities estimated that around 70 million to 100 million had taken up the practice. Viewing its surging popularity as a threat to the Party’s dominance over daily life in China, Jiang single-handedly gave an order to “eradicate” Falun Gong.Since then, untold numbers of practitioners have been detained in prison, labor camps, and brainwashing centers, where many have reported forced labor, torture, and deaths linked to forced organ harvesting. A 2019 judgment by the China Tribunal in London concluded that forced organ harvesting had been happening on a significant scale under the CCP, with Falun Gong practitioners as the primary victims.A proclamation adopted in the Illinois state senate in May to honor Falun Dafa Day stated that practitioners’ “determination and courage to stand up for truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance while facing severe persecution from the Chinese Communist Party has shown the world the value of life and human dignity.”Falun Dafa practitioners practice exercises before taking part in a candlelight vigil commemorating Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted to death by the Chinese Communist Party in China, in Washington on July 17, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch TimesMaryland State House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk said the occasion also “serves to recognize the perseverance of practitioners who continue to uphold their freedom of belief in the face of ongoing persecution in China,” according to a May 13 statement in recognition of World Falun Dafa Day.Her message was echoed in a letter from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).“Occasions such as World Falun Dafa Day provide an opportunity to recognize the values of freedom of belief and cultural diversity, as well as the positive contributions of those who uphold these values each day,” Cruz wrote.“As we mark this period, let us remember the challenges and successes of the millions worldwide who observe this practice on this day.”