Our History
In the spring of 2000, a group of concerned American citizens wanted to take action to raise awareness about the terrible injustice facing Falun Gong practitioners in China. Having the common desire to restore and protect the fundamental rights of Falun Gong practitioners, they turned for advice to a long-time champion of human rights issues, former U.S. At the time, Ambassador Palmer was the Vice-Chairman of the Board for Freedom House, and he still serves on that board. Among his many other achievements, Ambassador Palmer co-founded of the National Endowment for Democracy. After months of hard work, in November 2000, with the help of Ambassador Palmer and others, Friends of Falun Gong USA was formally established. Friends of Falun Gong organizations were then established in several countries around the world, including Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. All work toward the same goals: to inform governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the public about the persecution of Falun Gong, and encourage peaceful activism aimed at ending that persecution. Friends of Falun Gong is dedicated to ending violations of the right to practice Falun Gong freely, openly, and with dignity throughout the world. We work to achieve this mission through education and supporting appropriate legal action to redress and prevent such violations. Ambassador Palmer once stated that Falun Gong is “the largest nonviolent movement since Gandhi in India…And like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King, and Solidarity in Poland and the ANC in South Africa, this just cause will triumph.”
Friends of Falun Gong USA is determined to make that vision a reality.
