Practitioners of Falun Dafa in Singapore were invited to celebrate the 196th anniversary of the founding of Batam City, Indonesia.
Government officials from Batam City invited Falun Dafa practitioners from Singapore to participate in the Batam City anniversary parade on 19 Dec 2025, marking the 196th anniversary of the city’s founding, which fell on 18 Dec 2025.
Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, from Indonesia as well as neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Taiwan were also invited to participate in the parade.
This year’s parade theme was “Batam Unggul dan Berdaya Saing” or “Batam is Excellent and Competitive”.
The parade started from Engku Putri Square.
Participants included people dressed in traditional costumes from various ethnic groups, government employees, students, and various groups from local communities and clubs.
The Falun Dafa practitioners’ group was led by the powerful Tian Guo (Divine Land) Marching Band, followed by a Fairy Dance troupe comprising a group of practitioners dressed in yellow and holding balloons, and a lively Waist Drum team as the grand finale.
The participants were warmly welcomed and received by spectators along the route.
During the parade, the hot weather gradually eased, and a gentle dew fell from the sky, creating a peaceful and refreshing atmosphere.
Later that evening, the Tian Guo Marching Band, Fairy Dance troupe, Falun Dafa practitioners and the Waist Drum team took to the streets again for a parade, spreading the beautiful message of Falun Gong to the Indonesian people.
Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice rooted in the Buddhist tradition, centres on the cultivation of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Since its founder Master Li Hongzhi started to teach Falun Dafa in 1992, it has spread to 100 countries with millions of practitioners worldwide. Many practitioners have benefited spiritually, mentally and physically, leading happier and more stress-free lives, including better health.
The overall performance was solemn, yet peaceful and full of energy.
Falun Dafa practitioners received the government’s commendation at the end of the event.
Head of the Youth and Sports Department of Batam City, Zulkarnain HN, S.S.T., highly praised the Falun Gong practitioners’ enthusiastic participation and outstanding performance.
He personally presented award certificates to representatives of Falun Gong practitioners from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia—including those from Batam, Bali and Jakarta—in recognition of their positive contributions to the celebration.
The Tian Guo Marching Band and the Waist Drum team performed at the Golden Prawn 933 restaurant, creating a warm and auspicious atmosphere towards the end of the event.
Indonesia Lawmakers Call for End to Persecution of Falun Gong
Some Indonesian lawmakers called for an end to the more than two-decade-long persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In 2024, 132 lawmakers from 15 countries, including 15 from Indonesia, signed a joint statement that “strongly condemn the 25 years of human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners in China”, according to the Friends of Falun Gong, a US non-profit organisation.
Besides Indonesia, the lawmakers were from other countries like Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Norway, Slovak Republic, Sweden and the U.K.
The statement also urged the CCP to “immediately stop the 25-year-long persecution of Falun Gong in China” and to “unconditionally release all detained Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience”.
US lawmakers passed the Falun Gong Protection Act in 2023, calling for an end to the persecution and for sanctions on people complicit in the CCP’s live organ harvesting activities.
The European Parliament, comprising 720 Members of Parliament (MEPs), passed a resolution in January 2024 demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Ding Yuande and all Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China began in 1999, seven years after founder Li first introduced the practice, under then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.
The CCP felt threatened by Falun Gong’s massive popularity as the number of practitioners at that time had exceeded the membership of the CCP.
124 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in 2025, according to a report published on the Falun Gong official website Minghui.
In 2025, 751 practitioners were sentenced to imprisonment, while 4,803 cases of arrests and harassment were reported across China.
The report highlights that most of them had been detained in prisons, detention centres or brainwashing facilities, where they suffered severe physical and psychological torture.
Since the persecution campaign began more than two decades ago, at least 5,300 practitioners are reported to have died, while many others have been detained in prisons, detention centres or brainwashing facilities.
Human rights groups warn that the true number of victims is likely much higher due to the CCP’s long-standing practice of censoring or concealing data from the public.
