Falun Gong's expansion plans in bucolic area stoke tensions

Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. Over the years, they built up a compound with a traditional Chinese temple, schools, and rehearsal space for their high-flying, globe-trotting dance troupe, Shen Yun.

But the steady growth of Falun Gong's Dragon Springs complex has caused a growing rift with their neighbors, who worry about the effect it is having on the area's environment and rural character. Now a new proposal that could add more people, more buildings and more visitors has only added to the tension.

"We enjoy peace and quiet — until Dragon Springs moved in," neighbor Dusanka Marusic said at a packed public hearing on the proposal this month. "We are either unwilling or unable to control what goes on there, and it jeopardizes everyone."

A security guard walks along the drive of the main gate entry to the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound, Friday, March 8, 2019, in Otisville, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area's environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Practitioners of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, say they just want to coexist peacefully. But members in the past have said they were discriminated against by town officials based on their race and beliefs, which include traditional Chinese calisthenics and philosophy drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and the often-unorthodox teachings of founder Li Hongzhi.

Dragon Springs sits on 400 acres about an hour's drive northwest of New York City. The tax-exempt religious site was acquired in 2000, just a year after the Chinese government officially banned Falun Gong as an "evil cult."

After years of additions, the lakeside site features Tang Dynasty-style buildings along with modern, boxy buildings that would fit into a contemporary office park. Dragon Springs said 100 people, mostly students, live there. Few others get to set foot on a property sitting deep in the woods behind guarded gates.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound in Otisville, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area's environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Now they're asking for an expansion that would include a 920-seat music hall that, along with other public areas on the site, could generate up to 2,000 visitors a day, according to environmental impact filings. They're also seeking a new parking garage, a wastewater treatment plant, and conversion of a meditation hall to a residence hall. Under the proposal, the entire site would be able to accommodate 500 residents.

But critics say the problem is that Dragon Springs has flouted environmental and land-use regulations for years, sometimes building first and asking permission later. And they say it has grown far beyond what was initially described as a modest refuge.

"It's like a small city — little by little, through segmentation with one plan and then another plan," said Grace Woodard, a Dragon Springs neighbor.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound in Otisville, N.Y. After years of additions, the lakeside site features Tang Dynasty-style buildings close by modern, boxy buildings that would fit into a contemporary office park. Dragon Springs said 100 people, mostly students, live there. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Dragon Springs president Jonathon Lee emphasized his group is considerate to its neighbors, noting that the setting for the group's compound, nestled amid mountains and lakes, holds great cultural significance, especially for Buddhist reflection.

"It is good feng shui," he said.

Lee answered questions emailed to his lawyer by The Associated Press. Lawyers did not answer a question about Dragon Springs' revenues.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound, right, in Otisville, N.Y. Dragon Springs is asking for an expansion that would include a 920-seat music hall, a new parking garage, a wastewater treatment plant and modification of a meditation hall to a residence hall. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote that the proposed development could be "devastating" to the local stream, the Basher Kill and the trout-rich Neversink River, pictured at the center of the photo. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Shen Yun, which has five troupes of dancers, rehearses at Dragon Springs when it isn't playing heavily promoted performances in some of the top venues in London, New York, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco, to name a few.

Their shows feature elaborate dance numbers against colorful backdrops of traditional China, with dozens of performers doing acrobatic leaps in flowing traditional garb. Some attendees have reported the shows include pro-Falun Gong and anti-communist messages. The Chinese embassy's website calls the performances "a tool of the cult and anti-China propaganda."

The compound site hosts an arts college that acts as a feeder for Shen Yun and a secondary school. Beyond Dragon Springs, more Falun Gong practitioners live in homes in Deerpark and surrounding towns. On warm days, practitioners can occasionally be seen doing their slow, fluid exercises together outdoors.

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, meditate and exercise outside of the Chinese consulate, Thursday, April 25, 2019, in New York. Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. But the steady growth of Falun Gong’s Dragon Springs complex, an hour's drive north of New York City, has caused a growing rift with their neighbors who worry about the effect it is having on the area’s environment and rural character. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

"Individually they are very nice, always been friendly," said neighbor Bob Majcher. "What they do behind their walls is another story."

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote that the proposed development, including the wastewater plant and elimination of wetlands, could be "devastating" to the local stream, the Basher Kill and the trout-rich Neversink River.

The town's planning board will accept written comments from the public on the expansion plans until May 8. Town officials could reach a decision in the coming months.

Grace Woodard and Frank Ketcham hand out literature and paraphernalia as people arrive for a planning board meeting regarding Dragon Springs' planned expansion, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Port Jervis, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area’s environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

Dragon Springs has had its own complaints over the years.

The group claimed in a 2013 federal lawsuit that town officials were handling their planning approvals in a way that violated their religious rights. Members of the group claimed they were patronized by officials as "these people" and "Moonies," according to court filings. The lawsuit was settled. A separate suit filed in 2015 by 10 Chinese-American Dragon Springs residents who claimed the town supervisor was improperly challenging their right to vote was later withdrawn.

"People just don't truly understand Falun Dafa, Dragon Springs," said Gail Rachlin, an area resident and spokeswoman for Falun Gong. "And if they did, if they had a better awareness, I think they would welcome and embrace us."

People listen to speakers during a planning board meeting regarding Dragon Springs' planned expansion, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Port Jervis, N.Y. Expansion plans for the Falun Gong compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area’s environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, meditate and exercise outside of the Chinese consulate, Thursday, April 25, 2019, in New York. Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. But the steady growth of Falun Gong’s Dragon Springs complex has caused a growing rift with their neighbors who worry about the effect it is having on the area’s environment and rural character. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded the number of refugee places available for white South Africans, saying there have been “recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence” against them by their Black-led government and other political parties.

It's not clear what incitement Trump was referring to when his administration made the announcement Tuesday of 10,000 additional places for white South Africans in the refugee program this year to raise it to 17,500.

It's Trump's latest contention that minority white Afrikaners are being persecuted, which the South African government denies.

Here's a look at what Trump says is happening to white people in South Africa to justify their resettlement and why his position that they are being persecuted is condemned as baseless:

Trump laid the foundation for the resettlement of Afrikaners in an executive order last year that said they were victims of racial violence fueled by government actions.

Afrikaners are white South Africans descended from mainly Dutch and French settlers who first came to South Africa in the 1600s.

The U.S. has cited a small number of home attacks on white farmers as evidence of racial persecution. The South African government and analysts say that's a distortion of the facts, because Black farmers and farmworkers are also killed and injured in what are largely violent robberies and not racial attacks.

It's true that South Africa has a violent crime problem that affects all races, including white farmers.

There were more than 23,000 homicides across South Africa from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, according to official annual crime statistics, affecting all races but mostly the poor Black majority. In comparison, there were 29 homicides on farms in 2025, according to the Afrikaner lobby group, AfriForum. Farm killings represent about 0.1% of homicides.

South African police say Black people were also killed in those farm homicides, though they don't typically break rural crimes down as a separate category or by the race of victims.

AfriForum, the Afrikaner group at the forefront of raising concerns over rural crimes, also doesn't publish how many Black farmers and farmworkers were killed, saying it “does not racialize the issue.”

The Trump administration said that a recent increase in incitement to racial violence by the South African government and other politicians led to “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation” and “grave humanitarian concerns” for Afrikaners.

It wasn't clear what he was referring to, because there has been no public incitement to violence by the South African government, which is made up of a coalition of 10 political parties — some of which are led by white people. White people, including some with Afrikaner heritage, serve in South Africa's Cabinet.

Afrikaners are part of South Africa’s white minority, which also includes white people with British and other heritage. There are around 4.5 million white people in South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black, but also has other minorities with Indian and multiracial heritage.

Allegations of an “emergency refugee situation” for Afrikaners aren't reflected in everyday life in South Africa, where Afrikaners are prominent politicians, business leaders and sports stars.

Their language, Afrikaans, is widely spoken and taught in schools as one of the country’s 11 official languages, and Afrikaner monuments and churches stand and are maintained as part of the country’s multicultural makeup.

The Trump administration has previously focused on one far-left opposition party in South Africa, which has stoked racial tensions by sometimes using a decades-old chant from the era of resistance to the apartheid system of white minority rule, which ended in 1994. The chant has the lyrics “kill the Boer” — with Boer referring to white farmer — and it has been investigated for hate speech.

The South African government hasn't condemned the chant, saying it has a historical place connected to the fight against apartheid and shouldn't be taken literally. Some Afrikaner groups like AfriForum have criticized the government for that stance and called for the chant to be outlawed.

The far-left party isn't part of the government and has no power on the national stage.

South Africa's affirmative action laws have also been cited by the Trump administration as evidence of anti-white policies. The laws are aimed at advancing opportunities for Black people and others who were oppressed under white minority rule. They also are meant to help women and people with disabilities, though how successful they've been is debated.

They have become a focus for Trump allies like South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he was prevented from getting a license for his Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa because he's white.

The government says that's a distortion. Starlink can operate in South Africa, though it needs to follow affirmative action regulations in that sector that require previously disadvantaged groups to have a minority stake in any local entities. The South African government says more than 600 American companies currently operate in South Africa and follow affirmative action regulations.

The South African government has previously said that Afrikaners are free to leave for the U.S., just as other South Africans have emigrated in search of opportunities in other countries. However, the government says they shouldn't be classified as refugees fleeing persecution.

“The assertion that white Afrikaners, in particular, endure systemic persecution is entirely without foundation,” South African foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Around 6,000 South Africans have moved to the U.S. since the Afrikaner program started last year, according to the U.S. government.

The Trump administration has a larger problem with South Africa's government, especially its stance on the Israel-Palestinian issue. South Africa, a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause, has accused close U.S. ally Israel of genocide in Gaza in a highly emotive case at the United Nations' top court.

Israel, founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the allegations, and countered that the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was itself a genocidal act.

The U.S. has cited South Africa's position on that issue, and the country's diplomatic relations with Iran, as evidence of an anti-American foreign policy, which South Africa denies.

Michelle Gumede contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

FILE - President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, at the White House, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Farmers visit the Nampo agricultural fair, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, near Bothaville, South Africa, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)