Foreign Minister Urged to Demand Answers From Beijing After Falun Gong Practitioners Attacked Outside Toronto Consulate

Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters are calling on Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to condemn the recent attack against Falun Gong practitioners outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto and to raise the issue with Beijing.

“This attack is not an isolated event,” said Falun Gong practitioner Kathy Gillis at a rally outside the Foreign Affairs Canada Building on Sept. 28, reading from a statement issued by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC).

“For more than two decades, Falun Gong practitioners in Canada have reported harassment, surveillance, intimidation, threats, and assaults linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign against their faith.”

A man attacks a Falun Gong practitioner on a public sidewalk outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 22, 2026. Screenshot/Handout

The request comes in the aftermath of a man wearing a jacket with a patch of the flag of the People’s Republic of China on Sept. 22 attacking Falun Gong practitioners who were standing on a public sidewalk outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. The practitioners were raising awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa.

The man tore up the practitioners’ banners, and pushed against one of the practitioners, Lina Li, as she tried to save the banners, while attempting to kick another, Nora Geng, as she filmed the attack. He also uttered death threats against Li, saying that he will “shoot you dead,” while charging that the public sidewalk she was on is “Chinese territory” and that she’s subject to Chinese laws including the “anti-session law.” Li sustained a bloody chin as a result of the incident.

The Toronto Police Service, which responded to the incident by sending officers to the scene, told The Epoch Times it is investigating the issue. The attacker left the scene of the incident before police arrived.

“That such an attack took place in front of a Chinese diplomatic mission is particularly alarming. It suggests that individuals feel emboldened to suppress lawful expression in Canada on behalf of a foreign regime,” the FDAC said.

“If such acts go unanswered, they will invite further intimidation and erode the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in this country.”

The association is requesting that Anand publicly condemn the attack, and to raise the issue with the Chinese regime, “conveying that any attempt to intimidate, threaten, or suppress people in Canada for their beliefs or lawful expression is unacceptable.”

The association is also asking Anand to clarify with the Chinese Embassy whether any of its diplomats or affiliated personnel were involved in the attack in any capacity, and if the answer was affirmative to respond with appropriate diplomatic measures.

Falun Gong practitioner Nora Geng, who filmed the man who attacked her and another Falun Gong practitioner outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 22, 2026, speaks at a rally outside Global Affairs Canada, in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2026. Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times

Geng described the moment he tried to attack her.

“He lunged at me and kicked me. I stepped back in time and dodged him, protecting the camera in my hand,” she said. “Passerby could not tolerate the man’s behavoiur and reminded him that ‘this is Canada.’ He not only ignored them, but also swore at them.” In the video, the man can be heard saying an obscenity against Canada in Chinese.

Geng noted that similar attacks on Falun Gong practitioners and other dissidents also occurred in Washington last week as Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the United States capital. She suggested that these incidents appear to be “organized, pre-mediated” crime.

“This incident fully exposes that the CCP’s claws have reached into the free world, and show a further escalation of the CCP’s transnational repression,” she said.

“This is not only about protecting Falun Gong practitioners; this is also about protecting Canada as a free and democratic country.”

Falun Gong practitioner Kathy Gillis reads a statement from the Falun Dafa Association of Canada calling on the government to condemn the attack on Falun Gong practitioners outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 22, 2026, in a rally outside Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2026. Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times

Falun Gong practitioner Pam McLennan said in an interview with NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media, that she is very concerned about the attack on Canadian soil against peaceful Falun Gong practitioners.

“I feel terrible about that. It shouldn’t be allowed for one nanosecond,” she said. “We are asking our government to speak up and do something about it.”

Fellow Falun Gong practitioner Yareli Alfonseca said she’s very concerned that the attacker felt emboldened to act that way in Canada, adding that she’s worried about the safety of her family who all practice Falun Gong.

“I am worried because my family, my husband, and my two kids, they practice [Falun Gong]. So I’m worried that one day they could do that to my kids,” she said in an interview.

The Epoch Times contacted Global Affairs Canada for comment, but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Falun Gong practitioners and supporters hold a rally outside Global Affairs Canada to ask the government to condemn the attack on Falun Gong practitioners outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 22, 2026, in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2026. Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times

In a previous response when the incident first occurred, the department referred the issue to Public Safety Canada.

A spokesperson with Public Safety Canada said the government takes threats to safety and security of Canadians seriously, and has taken action to respond to acts of foreign interference and transnational repression.

“The Office of the National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator (ONCFIC) continues to provide leadership across government efforts while building societal resilience through ongoing engagement with domestic and international partners,” as spokesperson said last week.

Falun Gong practitioners and supporters hold a rally outside Global Affairs Canada to ask the government to condemn the attack on Falun Gong practitioners outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 22, 2026, in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2026. Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times

A spokesperson with the RCMP said that the force doesn’t publicly comment on potential or ongoing investigations. The federal police force added that if it finds out that any criminal or illegal activity is backed by a foreign state, it will investigate it.

“Generally, the RCMP is aware of foreign actor interference activity in Canada, from a number of countries. Various methods and techniques are in place to combat foreign actor interference within the RCMP’s mandate,” the RCMP told The Epoch Times.

“However, there are important limits to what can be publicly discussed on matters of foreign interference given the need to protect the RCMP’s sensitive activities, techniques and sources of information.”