UK Government Stresses Protection of Falun Gong Practitioners Against Potential China Threats

‘We have a broad suite of powers to counter foreign interference,’ Home Office Minister Lord Hanson of Flint said.

Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) practitioners celebrate World Falun Dafa Day (May 13) in central London on May 10, 2021. Yanning Qi/The Epoch Times

The UK government has recently underscored its commitment to safeguarding freedom of religion within the country against communist China’s transnational repression.

British Home Office Minister Lord Hanson of Flint affirmed the UK’s stance on March 20, in response to an inquiry from Lord Alton of Liverpool, who asked if the government has made any assessment on the risks that Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun performers face in the country and whether there is a plan to address the issue.

“The Government is committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, including protecting the rights of Falun Gong Practitioners and their performance group, Shen Yun,” the home minister wrote.

“We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.”

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that features meditative exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

The practice became enormously popular in China by the late 1990s, with official estimates putting the number of practitioners at more than 70 million at the time. Fearing that the practice’s enormous following could threaten its rule, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched an eradication campaign in July 1999, throwing practitioners into prisons, labor camps, and other facilities.

Since then, millions have been detained, with hundreds of thousands tortured while incarcerated and untold numbers killed, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center.

The CCP has exported its repressive tactics against Falun Gong overseas. In September 2024, unidentified Chinese men attacked Falun Gong practitioners at an event celebrating the Mid-Autumn festival in New York City, drawing condemnation from local lawmakers.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by Falun Gong practitioners in 2006, with a mission to revive the ancient Chinese culture that prevailed before the CCP’s takeover of China. The classical Chinese dance company has faced dozens of bomb and death threats targeting theaters where it performed over the past year. The threats are believed to be linked to the Chinese regime.

Hanson said the British government has a “broad suite of powers to counter foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression.”

“We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to keep people safe,” he said.

The home minister also cited a recent announcement by British Security Minister Dan Jarvis, saying that new training will be available to frontline police officers and staff to better understand the “threats that foreign powers present.”

“This training will increase law enforcement’s ability to detect criminal activity which may be state-directed, and strengthen public confidence in the UK’s response,” Hanson wrote.

Jarvis’s initial announcement in early March did not specifically link the training to China. Instead, it was intended to address threats posed by the Iranian regime.

“The Iranian regime is targeting dissidents. And it is targeting media organisations and journalists reporting on the violent oppression of the regime,” Jarvis told the British Parliament at the time.

In the United States, the Commission on International Religious Freedom identified the Chinese regime as one of the worst abusers of religious freedom in its latest annual report released on March 25.

The report calls on the U.S. government to coordinate with international partners to sanction Chinese officials responsible for religious freedom violations, including those officials who carry out transnational repression against religious minorities.

“Chinese authorities sought to crack down on diaspora activists and dissidents through collective punishment, such as targeting their families in China with intimidation, forced evictions, travel bans, and criminal proceedings,” the report states.