Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day and call for an end to persecution in China, in New York City, on May 13, 2026. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
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 Hongzhi 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.
In a video greeting, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said he respected practitioners’ rights to freedom of religion and conscience, as well as their values of tolerance and mutual respect. Moolenaar referenced the commandment to love God and to love one another as one would wish to be loved, adding that he appreciated celebrating the day with them.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued two Governor’s Citations. One honored World Falun Dafa Day, and another recognized its founder, whose birthday is also May 13. Both citations commended the demonstration of high integrity and ability that merit great trust and respect, and expressed appreciation for outstanding services to the citizens of Maryland.
A congratulatory letter from Pennsylvania’s Senate of the Commonwealth reads: “Falun Dafa practitioners offer free exercise instruction through free workshops and outdoor exercises sites, [and] have profoundly touched the lives of many local residents.
“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 Times
Maryland 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.
Some U.S. lawmakers also called attention to the regime’s state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting.
“This week, we mark and remember the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party, including its indescribably evil program of state-sponsored organ harvesting,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a post on X.
A London-based independent tribunal, after a year-long investigation, concluded in 2019 that forced organ harvesting had taken place in China for years “on a significant scale.” The main victims, the tribunal found, were imprisoned practitioners of Falun Gong.
Its final judgment, released in March 2020 and including 300 pages of witness testimony and submissions, found “no evidence of the practice having been stopped.”
A bill introduced by Cruz along with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in March would impose sanctions on those responsible for the state-sanctioned abuses. A prior version of the legislative proposal, the Falun Gong Protection Act, passed in the House in May 2025.
“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.”
