MPs Urge Stronger Action on Transnational Repression After Attack on Falun Gong Practitioners Outside Toronto Chinese Consulate

Lawmakers are asking the government to take more action to curb transnational repression after Falun Gong practitioners were attacked outside the Chinese Consulate in Toronto last month. 

MPs from across the House have condemned the Sept. 22 incident, in which a man wearing a jacket bearing a patch of a Chinese flag attacked Lina Li and Nora Geng while they were standing outside the consulate on a public sidewalk with a banner display, raising awareness about the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong. 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that combines meditation and qigong exercises with moral teachings centred on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Since 1999, it has been persecuted in China by the communist regime, which saw Falun Gong’s growing popularity as a threat to its rule. Reports indicate practitioners have faced mass detention, torture, imprisonment in labour camps, and forced harvesting of their organs.

‘Very Serious’

Conservative MP Michael Cooper called the incident “very serious,” adding that the Chinese regime “is engaging in violence in terms of what we saw in Toronto.”

He said the federal government is not doing enough to counter foreign interference and is instead “moving in exactly the wrong direction” by forging closer ties with Beijing.

He referred to the government’s new memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Beijing signed in January, including a law enforcement cooperation pact, saying that is unacceptable since the Chinese regime is “engaging in transnational repression activities and is targeting Canadians, and operates police stations on Canadian soil.”

“It is absolutely the wrong decision, it’s not in Canada’s interest, and it really raises a lot of questions,” Cooper said in an interview.

Videos of the attack recorded by Falun Gong practitioner Geng show the man damaging the banner display. As Li tries to protect the banners, the man is seen pushing Li and uttering death threats. Speaking in Chinese, the man also claims that the public sidewalk Li and Geng were on is “Chinese territory,” cites China’s Anti-Secession Law, and is seen attempting to kick Geng while she is recording him. 

The Toronto Police Service responded to the incident at the scene and has said the issue is under investigation.

Cooper noted there have been other incidents of foreign interference involving the Toronto Chinese Consulate, including the targeting of Joe Tay, a Hong Kong democracy activist and a Toronto-area Conservative candidate in the 2025 federal election. Tay was “advised by the RCMP that he shouldn’t campaign because of threats to his physical integrity because of the activities of the Toronto Consulate,” Cooper said.

Fellow Consrevative MP Jacob Mantle wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand asking her to investigate the attack, and that if the attacker is found to be an agent of Beijing, for him to be expelled.

“Violent actions against peaceful demonstrators are not acceptable in Canada,” Mantle said in his letter, which he posted on social media on Oct. 13. “I am sure you will agree that it is unacceptable for foreign state actors to engage in this behaviour, which undoubtedly violates all accepted norms of diplomatic conduct.”

When contacted for comment, Global Affairs Canada referred the issue to Public Safety Canada. The department said it takes the safety and security of Canadians seriously and has measures in place to address foreign interference and transnational repression.

‘Transnational Repression Is Real’

Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe also condemned the Sept. 22 attack.

“No act of violence should be permitted on this soil,” Brunelle-Duceppe said. He said the Canadian government is not doing enough to curb transnational repression and interference from foreign governments.

Such interference by the Chinese regime is “real,” but the government “has a different idea about Beijing,” he said.

He raised concerns similar to those of Cooper that while China engages in transnational repression on Canadian soil, Ottawa is seeking to deepen ties with Beijing amid trade tensions with the United States, announcing a “strategic partnership” with the regime earlier this year.

“I think the new relation with Beijing and Ottawa is not a good thing,” Brunelle-Duceppe said. “I think Canada should be more worried about what’s going to happen if they get closer to Beijing.”

NDP MP Jenny Kwan also said the attack outside the Chinese Consulate shows that “foreign interference is real.”

She referred to the public inquiry into foreign interference, which found China to be “the most active perpetrator” targeting Canada. Its January 2025 final report identified transnational repression as “a genuine scourge,” stating, “They target Canadian diaspora communities and attempt to influence voting, silence dissent, amplify preferred state narratives, control public opinion and sow discord.”

The report said this is a “serious” problem that the government needs to “meaningfully respond to.”

“I’m afraid that we are not taking the issue seriously enough, despite the inquiry. Transnational repression is real,” Kwan said, adding that the federal government needs to “step up” and ensure Canadians who are targets of transnational repression feel safe. 

Kwan said Canada does not currently have legislation to curb transnational repression. 

“My suggestion to the government is to take it seriously and don’t just turn a blind eye,” she said.

Canada and other G7 countries said in a joint statement in June 2025 that transnational repression is “an aggressive form of foreign interference whereby states or their proxies attempt to intimidate, harass, harm or coerce individuals or communities outside their borders.”

Repression on Canadian Soil

Liberal MP Judy Sgro told The Epoch Times that the issue of foreign interference is “very significant.”

“There are people who are attempting to manipulate conversations and other things that are unacceptable, and we have to all be very vigilant about what we read and what we hear. We don’t know if it’s disinformation or information that’s attempting to erode our democracy,” she said.

She added that the issue of transnational repression also “continues to be very significant.” 

“We know what happened with Shen Yun. We know that there are many things ongoing here in our country that we’re not necessarily supportive of, but we must be aware that it’s going on,” Sgro said.

Shen Yun Performing Arts, a classical Chinese dance company that performs in cities around the world each year, was founded in 2006 by Falun Gong practitioners who were leading artists with a mission of reviving China’s traditional culture. The New York-based non-profit company says this culture has been nearly all but destroyed under communist rule. The group says it cannot perform in China and has for years faced disinformation campaigns and death threats, including fake bomb threats in Canada and other countries that authorities have linked to China.

Sgro called it “wonderful” that the U.S. Senate recently passed a bill that helps to protect Falun Gong practitioners and targets individuals who have engaged in or facilitated organ harvesting in China. The bipartisan Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act was passed with unanimous consent on Sept. 28 and will now head to the House for approval.

“It’s a real statement—respect for Falun Gong and the ability for people to practise what they want to do, whatever their religious belief is,” she said.

NTD contributed to this report.