The CCP “is likely behind the scenes as it seeks to extend the persecution of Falun Gong across China’s borders,” the human rights group said.
Malaysia’s decision to detain dozens of Falun Gong practitioners before and during visits from Chinese leader Xi Jinping has brought vigilance from the US State Department and human rights advocates.
Two days before XI arrived in the country’s capital in mid-April, Kuala Lumpur saw about two dozen police officers appear at a private venue where nearly 80 Falun Gong practitioners gathered for a daily study of spiritual texts. Officers demanded their identity and forced them to detain despite their emphasis on the fact that their faith was peaceful and not a threat to anyone.
Those arrested include women over the age of 80 and children aged 10. Among the group was 29 Chinese people seeking protection from radical persecution targeting their beliefs from China. Some are UN refugees. Forty-seven Malaysian citizens were released hours after XI left, and during the next two weeks the Chinese citizens were released.
The massive arrest occurred when XI toured Southeast Asia to promote the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a trustworthy trading partner in the tariff war with the US, marking the first of its kind.
The US State Department has raised concerns about the report.
“We are calling on the Chinese Communist Party to end its nearly 26-year campaign to stop attempts to eradicate Falun Gong and pressure other governments to suppress Falun Gong practices,” a department spokesperson told the Epoch Times.
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“We call on Malaysia to respect the non-Luhunem principles and not to return Falun Gong practitioners who have been reportedly exposed to torture and imprisonment for their beliefs to return to China.”
After detaining the practitioner, Malaysian police had first promised to return home after completing the procedural documents, but reversed the course early the next morning, grabbed all phone calls, sent detainees to magistrate court, and extended detention. Police also confiscated the Falun Gong book. Some local practitioners reported additional home searches during the period, and one additional person was taken to the police station for questions.
Levi Browde, executive director of Falun DAFA Information Centre, said he found an incident that raised “serious questions about the Chinese administration’s ability to export religious persecution overseas.”
“It is clear that the CCP is likely behind the scenes to expand the persecution of Falun Gong across China’s borders,” he told the Epoch Times. “I’ve seen these tactics before.”
Falun Gong practitioners are sitting in a police van in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 13, 2025. Epoch era
Officers at the detention site said they acted under “high pressure,” the Epoch Times learned. Local sources said the Chinese agent was monitoring Falun Gong athletic sites and information booths a few weeks before XI’s visit. Some agents also went to the residence of a practitioner in Falun Gong, China, to harass them, sources said.
XI left Kuala Lumpur for Cambodia on April 17, and said the Malaysian king could lock in participating countries in debt, with further cooperation with China on trade, culture and education, in favor of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and critics of China’s leading infrastructure project.
Since 1999, Chinese authorities have excluded beliefs after extensive arrests, torture, sexual abuse and forced organ collection by Falun Gong practitioners. Incomplete statistics from China confirm thousands of deaths, but experts say the number is huge.
Falun Gong practitioners have practiced freely in Malaysia for over 30 years. However, in 2022, the Malaysian government revoked the registration of the local Falun Gong Association, which ostensibly under China’s influence.
Browde urged Malaysian authorities to protect religious freedom and “ensure that Chinese Falun Gong practitioners can either remain in Malaysia as refugees or safely move to other countries.”
“For 30 years, Malaysian Falun Gong practitioners were able to practice freely and share the beauty of their practice with the people of Malaysia. That’s what Malaysia accomplished,” he said.
“The Global Fanbandhafa community appreciates its openness and is urging current authorities to reject CCP pressure to change the situation.”
