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Falun Gong practitioners protesting peacefully outside the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles say they faced renewed harassment when a consulate employee attempted to seize one of their banners earlier this month.
The incident has once again highlighted Beijing's transnational repression against the spiritual practice, according to reports by The Epoch Times. According to The Epoch Times, Falun Gong adherents regularly gather in front of the consulate to meditate and hold banners that denounce the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) decades-long persecution. The banners shed light on forced labour, torture, arbitrary detention, and organ harvesting inflicted on practitioners since 1999, while also challenging Beijing's propaganda. A consulate worker allegedly pulled down a banner that disputed the CCP's "Tiananmen self-immolation hoax," a narrative often used by Chinese state media to discredit Falun Gong. Practitioner Liu Chuanyu told The Epoch Times that she and another protester quickly followed the man as he rushed toward the consulate gate. The staffer dropped the banner before entering the building. Liu said the Los Angeles Police Department was called, and officers entered the consulate to investigate. While they did not locate the employee, Liu said officers confirmed staff recognised him. Police instructed consulate personnel not to touch Falun Gong practitioners' property, warning that future incidents would be treated as criminal offences. Practitioners allege this was not an isolated case. Falun Gong protester Lan Meifang stated that pro-CCP individuals have previously vandalised banners, smeared faeces on railings, and even cut down trees to prevent displays. In June, video evidence showed a woman shouting in Mandarin and nearly striking practitioners outside the consulate. On September 7, another woman disrupted Falun Gong members at Santa Monica Pier, grabbing flyers and throwing them to the ground, as highlighted by The Epoch Times. A practitioner surnamed Yang, who survived detention in China, said the harassment would not deter him. "In China, people risk their lives to speak the truth. Now in the U.S., I have the freedom to do and I will," he said, as reported by The Epoch Times. (ANI)
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