Woman Arrested After Allegedly Threatening, Harassing Falun Gong Adherent in Toronto

Incident occurs amid Beijing's ongoing persecution of spiritual practice; other cases suggest persecution's extension abroad

A woman has been arrested after allegedly threatening, harassing Zhou Chuangying, a 78-year-old Falun Gong adherent, near CN Tower on Aug. 20, 2023. Courtesy of Zhou Chuangying

Toronto police have arrested a woman for allegedly assaulting a volunteer who was raising awareness about the Chinese regime’s persecution of Falun Gong.

Zhou Chuanyin, 78, makes regular visits to the CN Tower to distribute flyers to raise awareness about Beijing’s violent oppression of the spiritual group. According to Ms. Zhou, at roughly 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 20, a young woman approached her and proceeded to demand personal details, including her name, address, and whether she has a permit for her activity.

Ms. Zhou says she was alarmed and asked the woman to provide identification to show that she worked on the premises, but the woman said in Chinese that she didn’t have any work identification.

Apparently drawing on Falun Gong’s principle of practising “tolerance,” Ms. Zhou says the woman asked her, “How much can you tolerate?” and then went on to engage in acts of vandalism, including seizing Ms. Zhou’s bag of flyers and scattering the flyers on the ground. According to Ms. Zhou, she tried to take photos of the woman and her actions, and the woman seemingly tried to shield her own face. Ms. Zhou says the woman also in turn started taking photos of her.

A woman has been arrested after allegedly threatening and harassing Zhou Chuanyin, a 78-year-old Falun Gong adherent, near CN Tower in Toronto on Aug. 20, 2023. The woman reportedly engaged in alleged acts of vandalism and seized flyers from Ms. Zhou, scattering them on the ground, as shown in the photo on the right. Courtesy of Zhou Chuangyin

Ms. Zhou subsequently called the police. But when the police arrived, Ms. Zhou said she was told they were responding to a call from the woman, who had called the police to accuse Ms. Zhou of “robbery.” The police later instructed both parties to abstain from further engagement. However, the woman reportedly persisted in making verbal assaults, targeting not only Ms. Zhou but also the police, threatening to report the police for “improper law enforcement.”

Ms. Zhou told The Epoch Times that she believes the young woman “came intentionally to cause trouble.” The woman, whose name The Epoch Times cannot verify, seemed to be in her twenties and was wearing a white short-sleeved dress, according to witness accounts and photos taken.

The police subsequently offered to accompany Ms. Zhou to a different location where her friend would be meeting her. Despite this, Ms. Zhou says the woman persisted in trailing them and the police eventually arrested her near the area of Spadina Ave. and Bremner Blvd.

Tina Zhao, another Falun Gong adherent, arrived at the scene and helped translate for Ms. Zhou during her interaction with officers from the Toronto Police Service’s 52 Division. According to Ms. Zhao, the police informed her that the young woman had been released under the condition that she avoids the vicinity where the incident occurred and refrains from contacting Falun Gong adherents. Ms. Zhao also said the police had laid charges against the woman.

Citing Toronto police information, Ms. Zhao said the woman is an Alberta resident and was visiting Toronto.

The Epoch Times contacted the 52 Division for comment, including requesting any information on the motivation behind the alleged assault, but didn’t hear back by publication time.

The incident comes as Falun Gong adherents continue to face persecution in China as well as incidents in other countries indicating extension of the persecution overseas.

Other Incidents

Jeff Lee, a Falun Gong adherent in Toronto, told The Epoch Times last October that there had been a surge in incidents targeting members of the spiritual practice in Ontario. He suggested the CCP might be involved in some cases.

In an incident in 2017, two men disrupted a rally by Falun Gong adherents in front of the Chinese Consulate in Calgary. The men swore at the adherents and ripped up their display banners. The men left after the police were called. Witnesses saw one of the men talking with people coming out of the Chinese Consulate.

Last October, Mr. Lee cited a case in April 2022 where a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap ripped a banner belonging to an adherent who was doing the Falun Gong exercises at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. The same man assaulted another Falun Gong adherent in the same area in September 2022, Mr. Lee said.

He said there had also been a rise in intimidation incidents against Falun Gong adherents, including instances where a Chinese man or woman would suddenly approach them and take photos of them at close range, while sometimes also making threats.

In 2018, as two Falun Gong adherents were doing the practice’s meditative exercises in a park in Winnipeg, a man approached them speaking Chinese. The adherents invited the man to join them in the exercises, but he swore at them and threatened to beat them to death.

Decades of Persecution

For the past 24 years, Falun Gong adherents have been the target of a persistent persecution campaign initiated in July 1999 by former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin. Mr. Jiang regarded Falun Gong as a challenge to CCP rule due to the practice’s widespread popularity and its considerable number of adherents in China, estimated to range from 70 million to 100 million at that time.

To justify its persecution of the spiritual practice, the Chinese regime has launched a systemic propaganda campaign to demonize Falun Gong. On Jan. 23, 2001, CCP mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency broadcast a video clip of five people setting themselves on fire at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Xinhua claimed that they were Falun Gong adherents burning themselves in a religious suicide attempt. Despite suicide being counter to the practice’s teachings, the so-called self-immolation was used by the CCP to slander Falun Gong.

Despite various loopholes in the video, which was later exposed by international researchers and media whose findings indicate that the incident was staged, Xinhua’s reporting was widely seen and believed by many in China, adding to the persecution of Falun Gong in the communist regime-ruled country.

To get their side of the story out to Chinese citizens and to raise awareness of the CCP’s gross human rights abuses, Falun Gong adherents frequently go to global tourist destinations to distribute informational flyers and engage with tourists, particularly those from mainland China, who the adherents say often have misconceptions about the practice. This outreach aims to clarify the facts and dispel any distorted notions due to misinformation and disinformation.

Hundreds of Falun Gong adherents hold a large-scale parade in downtown Toronto on Aug. 19, 2023, to celebrate 417 million Chinese people quitting the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. Evan Ning

However, Falun Gong adherents outside China continue to face threats, harassment, and even attacks. In some cases, their family members back in China are also subject to threats and harassment from the police, who seem to know about the Falun Gong activities of their relatives overseas.

In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, Huang Hua, a Falun Gong adherent living in Toronto, said members of her family living in China have repeatedly been harassed by the Chinese police as part of their intimidation tactics against her.

Ms. Huang says that her father, who lives in Zhejiang Province, has received warnings from local police for trying to contact her. In October 2019, the Chinese police raided his home, presumably searching for evidence to convict him for practising Falun Gong.

“As an individual [in China], it’s impossible to get away when the government targets you. You will always lose,” Ms. Huang said, adding that the family gave up trying to secure a lawyer. “In China, the rule of law does not exist.”

China’s Long-Arm Policing

In a September 2022 report, Spain-based human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders highlighted Beijing’s transnational repression and long-arm policing aimed at dissidents residing abroad.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper raised the matter of China’s transnational oppression in the House of Commons in May. He questioned why the government hadn’t expelled Chinese agents who had reportedly been implicated in threats against Falun Gong adherents and other Canadian residents.

“For three years, this government knew that a diplomat in Beijing’s Toronto consulate was spying on Chinese Canadians and sending information back to Beijing’s secret police,” Mr. Cooper said on May 12. He was referring to Zhao Wei, a former Chinese diplomat in Toronto. Mr. Zhao has since been expelled from Canada following reports of his alleged involvement in threats against the family members of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

Between July and August 2022, at least 1,043 Falun Gong adherents were arbitrarily arrested in China, according to Minghui.org, a website that documents the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. A total of 614 homes were illegally searched and 62 people were forcefully sent to brainwashing centres, Minghui reported.