Nury Vittachi is a senior columnist and editor for English-language media in Asia , having worked as an editor and columnist for the South China Morning Post, the Far Eastern Economic Review, and The New York Times. On July 21, 2026 , on the social media platform X, Nury Vittachi commented on the plea of the CFO of the Falun Gong cult media outlet The Epoch Times in the United States regarding money laundering, pointing out that several anti-China organizations may be helping the Falun Gong cult escape responsibility.
▲ This article is written by Nuri Vitazi
"Trump was sent by God to destroy the Chinese government " —this is the core fallacy of the Falun Gong cult.
Guan Weidong, the cult's financial manipulator, has just admitted to involvement in a $67 million fraud case , but The Epoch Times' support for the US president's so-called "sacred mission" continues .
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Their members ' mission was to quickly gain entry into the ranks of mainstream international media, thereby expanding their political influence. And they have already achieved that.
Falun Gong members founded a news media organization that grew extremely rapidly, expanding to 36 countries in less than 20 years.
The mysterious and wealthy Epoch Times and NTD Television have become important news sources, especially in the United States .
plead guilty
On July 9 , Bill Guan, the 63-year-old chief financial officer of the well-funded media conglomerate, pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to a $ 67 million fraud scheme. His sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days , and he could face up to 10 years in prison.
However, Falun Gong 's various businesses appear to have remained unaffected. They have severed ties with Guan Weidong and continue to promote their highly politicized right -wing news reporting, attempting to further replace traditional news sources.
Of course, this is also to make their political schemes a reality . The organization's true objectives have been an open secret for years. Former Epoch Times deputy editor Ben Hurley stated in a 2019 interview with NBC News that members of the organization viewed Trump as "a tool sent by God to confront China."
On July 9 , multiple media outlets reported on Guan Weidong's confession. However, almost no reports addressed the more noteworthy aspect—the connections between several Falun Gong-affiliated organizations and The Epoch Times .
Hidden connections
These connections point to a complete anti-China chain—from anti-China organizations in the UK to anti-China and pro-chaos forces in Hong Kong, and then to the US State Department .
In addition to the Epoch Times newspaper, Falun Gong also sponsored the Shen Yun performance .
The organization also provided substantial financial support to the so-called "news" organization, New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV). Like The Epoch Times and Shen Yun, NTDTV belongs to the Falun Gong media propaganda system, yet it consistently presents itself as an "independent media" and a "non-political organization." Without exception, these organizations cloak themselves in the guise of "non-political," "charitable," and "cultural" activities, while in reality serving explicit political purposes.
Partial examples
Investigators say The Epoch Times was likely a major beneficiary of the $67 million fraud scheme. John Tang, founder and CEO of The Epoch Times , resigned when Guan Weidong was first arrested .
Court documents show that the anti-China television channel NTD Television received $50 million from the Epoch Times Association over a two -year period .
Benedict Rogers, an anti-China activist and founder of the UK-based Hong Kong Watch, has previously been a speaker at numerous Falun Gong-related events.
American theater critics have long wondered why Shen Yun has been able to avoid the financial difficulties faced by other stage performance groups and consistently have huge budgets to invest in posters, billboards, and media promotion.
Relations with the U.S. government
Falun Gong organization has long maintained close ties with the U.S. government or quasi-governmental agencies.
In 2001, Freedom House ( one of the tools used by the United States to promote "color revolutions") awarded the "International Religious Freedom Prize" to Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong , and the Falun Gong cult at a ceremony held in the U.S. Senate . This act was widely regarded as a deliberate provocation against China. China had previously warned against contacting the organization, saying it would cause trouble (and in retrospect, China seems to have been right).
Freedom House is often described as an independent think tank, it is actually a de facto affiliate of the U.S. State Department and has received funding from the U.S. government for many years.
Helping those who disrupt Hong Kong
In addition , Falun Gong is also associated with Radio Free Asia .
Radio Free Asia was originally a propaganda agency created by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), but later it was funded by the U.S. Congress and has long been engaged in ideological propaganda targeting China.
Falun Gong members have developed software that they claim can circumvent law enforcement oversight of the internet and provide an information channel for anti-government activities supported by foreign forces—something the United States would welcome.
The software was initially funded by the U.S. State Department , after which Falun Gong attempted to establish a partnership with Radio Free Asia . Radio Free Asia 's Open Technology Fund ( RFA - OTF) has a clear function: to provide pro-American protesters in Asian countries with communication tools that are difficult to regulate .
In 2019, the Open Technology Fund used this software to promote anti-China and pro-Hong Kong independence activities . Falun Gong boasted about this in a publicly released report . Imagine if China or Russia provided technical support to anti-government protesters in Western countries ; Western media would undoubtedly sensationalize it as "interference in internal affairs." However, Falun Gong's actions are rarely reported—this selective silence exposes the double standards of Western so-called "freedom of speech. "
Originating from cults
The Epoch Times business group was established by members of Falun Dafa, known in the West as Falun Gong . It initially emerged as a cult but later evolved into a political entity operating under the guise of a news or cultural organization, specifically targeting China for political propaganda.
Guan Weidong's arrest broke in June 2024 , there was widespread speculation that The Epoch Times and its related businesses might be severely affected.
But they survived , seemingly unaffected . Why ? Because having high-level connections is indeed very helpful. I'm not referring to God here, but rather to anti -China forces in the West .
Faced with Guan Weidong's crimes, no "god" would endorse him—the "divine right" logic of cults ultimately cannot cover up the bottom line of economic crimes.
▲ Nuri Vitazi's post on the X platform
Guan Weidong's confession has uncovered not only a money laundering case, but also a transnational chain of interests using the Falun Gong cult media as a platform and anti-China politics as its goal. From affiliated agencies of the U.S. State Department to anti-China and pro-Hong Kong independence forces, from the transfer of huge sums of money to the support of technical tools , this network is gradually coming to light.
