United States

U.S. House of Representatives Speeches in Support of House Resolution 605

The U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 605 on March 16, 2010 (news). The voting was preceded by a 13-minute-long floor debate during which Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the resolution's author and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs spoke, as did Representatives Diane Watson (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), all in support of the declaration. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), who could not attend the debate in person, submitted statements for the record. Below are the five Congressional members' full remarks in the order in which they were presented.

U.S. House of Representatives Calls For End to Falun Gong Persecution in China (Updated)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday urging the Chinese Communist Party to end its decade-long campaign against Falun Gong and expressing solidarity with victims of persecution in China.

United States House Resolution 605

Nov. 20, 2009: Falun Gong News Bulletin

* FDIC: “Spanish Court Indicts Top Communist Party Officials for Torture, Genocide of Falun Gong” * FDIC: “10 Things President Obama Should Know For His Visit to China” * FDIC: 41-year-old farmer serving 10-year prison “sentence” dies from prolonged abuse in custody * Freedom House: Falun Gong practitioner included on list of prisoners for President Obama to raise * The Canadian Press: New book by former Canadian diplomat and prominent attorney says Falun Gong prisoners in China still being used as organ sources * The Epoch Times: Falun Gong Practitioner Returns to U.S. After 10-Year Ordeal

10 Things President Obama Should Know For His Visit to China

1. Within a 50-mile radius of central Beijing, hundreds of innocent Falun Gong practitioners are being held and tortured in detention centers, forced labor camps, and prison camps. 2. During Obama’s 3-day trip, an estimated 72 Falun Gong practitioners will be abducted by security forces, 15 will be sent to a forced labor or prison camp for the next 1 to 18 years, and at least one will likely be tortured to death. 3. Several Communist Party officials Obama may meet are being investigated for egregious human rights violations, including torture and genocide. 4. Tiananmen Square, a likely destination during Obama’s sightseeing tour, has been the scene of countless Chinese citizens being pummeled, beaten, and shoved into police vans by security forces for peacefully protesting against the persecution of Falun Gong. Many died after being detained there. 5. At least 97 Falun Gong practitioners from Beijing and 414 from the surrounding Hebei province have been killed due to persecution over the past decade. 6. In 1999, roughly 1 out of every 15 Chinese practiced Falun Gong. Thus, many of the people President Obama meets or sees walking down the street have a friend, relative, or colleague who has been victimized by the last decade of persecution. 7. Whatever Obama hears—or doesn’t hear—from Party officials about Falun Gong will be profoundly shaped by propaganda and censorship. 8. Despite Party leaders rhetorical commitment to the “rule of law,” judges, prosecutors, and security agents are routinely manipulated by Party officials into carrying out illegal abductions, detentions, “re-education,” torture, and murder. 9. Public interest lawyers who have represented Falun Gong practitioners have been harassed, disbarred, and tortured. 10. In Beijing and across China, Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters are engaging in a tireless grassroots effort to stop the violence.

Nov. 10, 2009: Falun Gong News Bulletin

• FDIC: Mr. Huang Lizhong Tortured to Death in Panjin City Prison • NTDTV: Shanghai Falun Gong Practitioner Sues Police for Torture • The Washington Times: Chinese lawyers want Obama to push for Beijing rights • Canada Leads with New Parliamentary Falun Gong Friendship Group • Amnesty International USA: Open Letter to President Obama Highlights Religious Persecution • U.S. State Department: Religious Freedom Report 2009 Cites Arrests and Deaths of Falun Gong Practitioners [move to news from inside china since the core of the posting is a list of practitioner cases?] • Taipei Times: “Activists Call for Release of Falun Gong Practitioners”

Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2009 Annual Report: Falun Gong-Related Excerpts

The Chinese Government continued during the Commission’s 2009 reporting year to strictly control religious practice and repress religious activity outside of state-approved parameters. Local governments implemented measures to prevent ‘‘illegal’’ religious gatherings and to curb other ‘‘illegal’’ religious activities, in some cases destroying sites of worship and detaining or imprisoning religious believers. The government maintained its longstanding ban against the Falun Gong spiritual movement and other religious and spiritual groups...

Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Support Falun Gong Practitioners in China

In a bi-partisan letter sent to President Obama yesterday, sixty one members of Congress urged the President to "speak very clearly and specifically" in support of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

China Human Rights Lawyers Beaten

Chinese practitioners of the spiritual movement Falun Gong continue to be severely repressed in China. Tens of thousand of Falun Gong practitioners in China have been arbitrarily detained since the spiritual movement was banned as a "threat to social and political stability" in July 1999.

U.S. State Department: 2008 Country Report on Human Rights Practices