(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in Los Angeles held a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate on July 18, 2026, calling to end the 27-year-long persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the regime’s transnational repression.

As night fell, practitioners held a candlelight vigil to mourn fellow practitioners who were persecuted to death by the CCP. The pictures of some of the deceased bore witness to the lives that were lost during the persecution.

Practitioners' candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate on July 18, 2026 (Minghui.org)

CCP Extends the Persecution Outside of China

The CCP launched a systematic persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, and issued a policy of genocide characterized by the directives to “ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically,” and even sanctioned the atrocity of live organ harvesting. According to incomplete statistics from Minghui.org, the deaths of more than 5,300 Falun Gong practitioners as a result of the persecution have been verified. Due to the CCP’ s tight information blockade, many cases remain undocumented. Freedom House, a human rights organization, estimates that tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China remain at risk of persecution.

Throughout the 27-year-long ongoing persecution, some practitioners have fled China and sought asylum in other countries. However, the CCP’ s persecution has not ceased for them. Instead, the regime has extended the suppression overseas. In recent years, the CCP has begun a campaign of transnational repression, attempting to extend its persecution into free societies through various means including legal warfare, media campaigns, harassment, physical attacks, property damage, violent threats, and surveillance.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center’s recent investigative report, the CCP has significantly escalated its transnational repression of Falun Gong practitioners in the United States. This action is directed by the regime’s highest levels and is documented in 30 states across the U.S. In Los Angeles, while raising awareness about the persecution, numerous Falun Gong practitioners have faced verbal abuse, threats, and even violent attacks. The individuals responsible for the assaults and property damage have been arrested by the police and are facing prosecution.

Falun Dafa Association Spokesperson: The Persecution Threatens Law Enforcement in Western Countries

After he examined Minghui’s investigative report, Yingnian Wu, a UCLA professor and spokesperson for the Los Angeles Falun Dafa Association, found that the number of transnational repression cases reported in 2025 increased more than tenfold compared to 2020. The tactics of suppression have expanded from violent harassment to legal warfare, information warfare, and infiltration of U.S. society.

UCLA Professor Yingnian Wu speaks at the candlelight vigil. (Minghui.org)

“What is most noteworthy about this report is not merely the increase in numbers, but the fact it revealed that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong has extended from within China into American society,” said Professor Wu. “The CCP effectively poses a threat to the normal rule of law in the West. This is not only an issue of religious freedom, but also a critical matter concerning how democratic nations protect freedom of speech, personal safety, and the principles of the rule of law.”

U.S. Official: Maintain Close Watch on Persecution and Combat Transnational Repression

The CCP’s ongoing persecution and transnational repression of Falun Gong has attracted the attention of the international community, including U.S. officials.

On July 16, 2026, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes met with five Falun Gong practitioner representatives at an event. Mr. Barnes emphasized the U.S. government’s tough stance against religious persecution, and said, “The U.S. government takes attacks on members of religious groups such as Falun Gong seriously and is committed to using all appropriate tools to pursue accountability of Chinese officials’ involvement in repressive acts.”

Mr. Barnes stated that the U.S. government will combat transnational repression on American soil, and that those responsible will be held accountable.

Facing the CCP’s persecution for 27 years, Falun Gong practitioners have continued to use peaceful means to expose the persecution, and they’ve earned the international community’s respect and support.

Dr. Li Youfu, president of the U.S. Southwestern Falun Dafa Association, said, “The compassion demonstrated by Dafa practitioners while resisting this persecution has led an increasing number of people, nations, and governments to gradually understand the truth, bringing about earth-shaking changes in the world.

“We call upon kind-hearted people around the world to put an end to the CCP’s tyranny and stop its persecution of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and of kind people everywhere.”

Dr. Li Youfu, president of the US Southwestern Falun Dafa Association, speaks at the candlelight vigil. (Minghui.org)

Chinese Pro-Democracy Movement Leader: “To Protect Falun Gong Practitioners Is To Protect Every Single One of Us”

Mr. Liu Yinquan, chairman of the China Social Democratic Party, came to the event to show his support for Falun Gong. Mr. Liu first expressed his deep condolences for the Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted to death, then paid high tribute to the founder of Falun Dafa. He said, “Falun Dafa has spread across the globe, bringing blessings to hundreds of millions of people. Had it been allowed to spread freely in China, the country would by now have become the most civilized nation in the world.”

Mr. Liu Yinquan, chairman of the China Social Democratic Party, at the candlelight vigil (Minghui.org)

Mr. Liu noted that if the suppression of Falun Gong practitioners is allowed to continue, the CCP will inevitably extend it to people from all walks of life, and across the globe. “Protecting the legitimate rights of Falun Gong practitioners means protecting the basic human rights of us all,” he said.

Mr. Liu called on various overseas Chinese groups, including Christian organizations, pro-democracy and dissident groups, and Falun Gong practitioners, to unite and submit reports to the U.S. President, the State Department, Congress, the FBI, and other relevant bodies, demanding that the United States step up investigations into the CCP’s criminal activities such as transnational repression.

Los Angeles Residents Rally to Support Practitioners’ Efforts

On July 19, the day after Falun Gong practitioners’ candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate, numerous Los Angeles residents gathered at the same location to show solidarity with practitioners and to raise public awareness of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, which has gone on for 27 years. They commended the practitioners for steadfastly opposing the persecution through peaceful means, and for their unwavering belief and indomitable spirit.

Some Los Angeles residents rally in front of the Chinese Consulate to condemn the CCP’s 27-year persecution of Falun Gong. (The EpochTimes)

Mr. Zhu Yufu, a co-founder of the China Democracy Party and a pro-democracy leader who encountered imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners while he was incarcerated in China’s prisons, said he admired Falun Gong practitioners’ courage in upholding their faith, “When the CCP subjected them to torture, they remained silent. The sound of the guards’ blows was loud, yet the Falun Gong practitioners made no sound. I could sense the steadfastness of their faith. It was both heart-wrenching and deeply admirable.”

In her speech, Ms. Shi Qingmei, chairman of the Chinese Democracy and Human Rights Alliance (CDHRA) Western U.S. Chapter, also emphasized the power that Falun Gong practitioners gain from their faith. “Falun Gong practitioners are people of faith who pursue Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance’ which is exactly what the CCP is afraid of.” She said. “So the CCP has been brutally suppressing this group of kind-hearted people for the past 27 years.”