We Cannot Turn a Blind Eye to the CCP’s Persecution of Falun Gong — Remarks by Valerie Smian, Communications Director of Huma

On July 17, 2025, marking the 26th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong, 1,500 Falun Gong practitioners and supporters from across the eastern United States gathered on the National Mall near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., calling to “Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong.” More than a dozen U.S. officials, human rights leaders, and advocates delivered speeches in support of Falun Gong.

Ahead of the rally, officials from the U.S. State Department and over ten bipartisan members of Congress issued statements condemning the CCP’s persecution and demanding its immediate end.

Valerie Smian, Communications Director of Creative Society, said in her remarks:

“What we are witnessing today — the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, the launch of ‘anti-cult campaigns,’ and the erosion of freedom of belief — is not just a troubling signal, but a global threat. We cannot choose to look the other way.”

She pointed out that Falun Gong practitioners in China are arrested, tortured, and even killed simply for their faith. This is not just a personal tragedy but a crime committed by the CCP against all humanity. Labeling religious believers and civic groups as ‘cults’ to harass and suppress them are tactics once used by the Nazi regime, and now systematically adopted by ‘anti-cult associations.’

Smian stressed that the CCP’s large-scale campaign against Falun Gong is not strengthening China but weakening it, fueling violence and instability.

We Cannot Turn a Blind Eye to the CCP’s Persecution of Falun Gong — Remarks by Valerie Smian, Communications Director of Human Rights Organization, at the D.C. Rally

“If we do not stop this now, tomorrow they will come for you,” she said. “Free thought, independent belief, and every quiet act of individual conscience will be labeled, targeted, and erased.”

“We must stop this,” she continued, “because freedom of thought, freedom of belief, and human dignity are the foundations of a free society — they are the very principles on which America was founded. If we do not stand up for freedom today, we may lose it forever.”

Regarding the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, Smian said:

“We must protect the right of all people, including Falun Gong practitioners, to live in peace, to believe freely, and to practice their faith without fear — whether in China, Russia, the United States, or anywhere else.”

She concluded by saying that Falun Gong practitioners must be able to live without fear, to feel free and protected in their own country. This, she emphasized, is a fundamental human right.