Policy Analyst: New Report Details Beijing’s Secret Campaign Targeting Americans

Thanks for having me, Seth. Well, I think, you know, in this report, we are really telling a very important story because we have received over 1,000 respondents from across 41 U.S. states, and the majority of them are American citizens, and close to 50% of the respondents really said they have encountered at least one case of transnational repression in the past four years. So that is a pretty significant scale. And at the same time, from these responses, we have documented over 600 instances of transnational repression from the year 2020 to 2025. And when we do compare the number of instances per year, we have found that, hey, when you compare the 2020 and 2025 numbers, there's a tenfold increase. So that is a pretty significant escalation in just a short five years. So when you put it together, we are seeing transnational repression is happening on a large scale and is drastically escalating. And yeah, like you said earlier, this is the 27th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong. And I have to say, from our report in this one, and also from our other reports, we are not really seeing any signs that this persecution is slowing down. Instead, we're seeing many evidences that this is intensifying. And as I understand it, the CCP uses a broad range of tactics, a kind of mosaic approach to undermine its targets. What's an example of those tactics? For sure. In our report, we really documented many forms of tactics because transnational repression really happens in many different shapes and forms. And this could be physical violence, violent threats, reprisals against family members, etc., etc. And I think a great example of this is how the CCP is targeting shaming performing arts. So shaming performing arts was started by Falun Gong practitioners in New York, and its mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture before communism, and also to raise awareness about the persecution that is happening inside China on a global stage. And as you can see, the CCP is not a huge fan of the message. And so since its founding in 2006, the CCP has been targeting shaming performing arts. And we do see that as being reflected in our survey too, because nearly a quarter of this, you know, over 600 cases were related to shaming performing arts. And one example of this is how Washington DC Kennedy Center received a case of bomb threat right before Shane's performance last year. And a respondent was at the venue at the time trying to volunteer for the show, and she was forced to evacuate after standing in the cold for many hours and to wait for the police and canines to clear the venue. And that was a really particularly stressful moment for her. And, you know, we have to make it clear that while there were no traces of bomb or mass shooting threats, you know, that have ever occurred whenever these theaters receive a case of this. However, they do place significant amount of mental stress on the performers, and also on the broader Falun Gong community as a whole. And how does an issue like this persecution directly affect Americans here in the US? And why do you think they should be concerned about it? For sure. Because, well, you can see that we really tell a story that every American should care about, especially if you are concerned about our civil liberties, about our religious freedom, and about the integrity of our US institutions. Because what we are seeing is not just a foreign, a distant human rights concern. This is something that is happening right here on our home turf, happening to our neighbors, happening to American citizens right now in 30 states. And so when we are talking about transnational repression, there are significant infringements upon our national sovereignty, national security, and also our American way of life. So what is being done to the Falun Gong practitioners right now? You can really see that as a playbook because the CCP is constantly learning. And what is being successful right now, they can employ the same exact mechanisms towards any entity or group that they decide to target next. So it is really a test for the United States about whether we can push back against the CCP's aggressions and to really protect our freedoms and our citizens. And folks, you can learn more and read the report that we've been speaking about at faluninfo.net. Mark, it's great to speak with you. I know there's a lot of bipartisan support for human rights amidst this persecution within China, and looking forward to learning more through your research about the developments on that front as well. Mark Yang, thank you so much. Thank you, Steph.