Man Allegedly Attacks Falun Gong Practitioner in New York

0:00Man allegedly attacks Follin Gong practitioner in New York. A man allegedly assaulted a Follin Gong practitioner in New York City on February 27th. The latest in a series of incidents raising concerns about possible Beijing-linked intimidation in the United States. New York resident Lydia Dong said she was attacked while volunteering at a Follin Gong information booth in Flushing, Queens. Time stamps on video footage of the event show the attack took place at about 1.15 pm local time on February 27th. The videos show the man approaching Dong from behind, striking her on the back of her head and knocking her to the ground. Her glasses and hat fell off. After getting back on her feet, Dong called the police. A pedestrian who witnessed the attack described the assailant as an Asian man about five feet nine inches tall. According to Dong, a street camera captured the incident, showing the assailant dressed mostly in black and wearing a hat. In the video, he approaches Dong from behind and strikes her on the head with his right hand

1:03before fleeing the scene. Dong recalled feeling immediate pain and numbness after the attack. Although it left no visible wound, as the discomfort persisted and her heartbeat quickened. The police called an ambulance for her. She said, at the hospital, Dong said, she experienced a headache, numbness in her arms and legs, and elevated blood pressure. The doctor believes the symptoms were related to the attack. She said, the pain continued the day after the attack. Dong said, during the interview, she said she still feels a tingling sensation in her head, like ants crawling. The information booth at which Dong was volunteering is organized by the Global Service Center for quitting the Chinese Communist Party, which was founded shortly after the epic times published nine commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party in 2004. The editorial series helped inspire a grassroots movement known as Tuodeng, or quit the party, in which Chinese people renounce

2:04their ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Flushing has regularly seen incidents of pro-CCP activists harassing or attacking Falun Gong practitioners, dating back to at least 2008. In April 2025, the Center received multiple threatening messages over nine days, warning of bombings, shootings, car accidents, rape, and other acts of terror targeting Falun Gong practitioners and supporters. The threats escalated the following day when a man showed up at a booth in Flushing and attempted to knock it over. Another incident took place in Brooklyn in 2024, when an Asian man allegedly attacked several Falun Gong practitioners during a parade for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. In 2022, a suspect named Zhang Buqiu was charged with a hate crime and criminal mischief in the fourth degree, for allegedly repeatedly vandalizing information stands in Flushing. Dong said the hostility toward Falun Gong is largely fueled by the Chinese regime's messaging. The Chinese people's minds have been filled with propaganda from the Chinese

3:06Communist Party. Dong said, as a result, they tend to harbor feelings of hatred toward Falun Gong. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice grounded in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Introduced to the Chinese public in 1992, the practice had spread widely by the late 1990s, with official estimates placing the number of practitioners at more than 70 million in China, out of fear of its popularity. The CCP launched a brutal campaign to eliminate the practice in July 1999. Since then, hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been detained and subjected to torture, with thousands dying as a result of abuse while in custody, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. Due to strict censorship in China, the true death toll is likely far higher. The ongoing persecution in China makes it impossible to hold such booths publicly. Dong said, but it is possible to do so in the United States, which makes her effort

4:09very meaningful. What we do is hand out materials to pedestrians passing by. Those who want them can take them. If someone wants to learn more, we talk with them. The goal is to use this approach to show people what Falun Gong is really about. Dong said, she said that what happened to her and what Falun Gong are doing to stop the abuses in China Mark 2 contrasting forces. One for kindness and one for violence. Michael Yu, who helps coordinate volunteers for the Falun Gong booth, said the incident represents another example of Chinese transnational repression. I think he acted out of his hatred for Falun Gong. You told the epic times. Falun Gong or Falun Dafa is a legally recognized religious organization in the United States. His action could be seen as a form of hate directly targeting a religious group and in doing so, challenging one of the foundational principles of the United States.