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Letter from Congressman Chris Smith
Congress of the United States
August 16, 2001
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Falun Gong:
I want to congratulate all of you here today, and I am especially proud to
congratulate and honor the five New Jersey Falun Dafa walkers: Erin Elliott,
Jane Chen, Diana Cheng, Michelle Xie and Jian Gao. All of you have demonstrated
your commitment to human rights and solidarity with the Falun Gong.
Several weeks ago, I had the honor of joining with these walkers, and
thousands of other Falun Gong supporters, during the rally held at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, DC. This powerful, but peaceful demonstration brought out
dozens of Members of the Senate, House and leaders of organizations supporting
human rights around the world. Your rally made clear that the Falun Gong, and
their supporters worldwide, will not be silent and will not go away. It was a
truly impressive event.
Let me assure you that your actions to speak out for those who cannot are
making a difference. Your efforts today will further help to bring the truth of
what is happening in China to the attention of the American people and the
world.
As Vice Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, I have been
bringing that message to my colleagues in Congress, and we are having some
success. For the past two years I have sponsored a resolution in Congress
(H.Con.Res. 188) calling on the Chinese government to end their persecution of
the Falun Gong. In addition, I am the author of a resolution (H.Res. 160)
approved in the House of Representatives earlier this year that condemns the
Chinese communist government for their arrest and imprisonment of
Chinese-Americans scholars, including Teng Chunyan.
As I am sure many of you know, Teng Chunyan is a permanent resident of the
United States and Falun Gong practitioner who was arrested in China for her
beliefs and is still being held in a Chinese prison today. She was convicted in
a secret trial, apparently charged with spying because of her research
documenting human rights violations of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Rest
assured that I will continue to press our government, including Secretary of
State Powell and President Bush, to make the release of Teng Chunyan, and others
unjustly imprisoned in China, the highest priority for our government.
Be assured that I will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you as we
work to achieve justice, freedom and liberty for everyone in China to practice
their beliefs. We must remain steadfast and vigilant in our efforts to secure
for all people all of their basic human rights, including the freedom of
conscience.
Sincerely,
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Christopher H. Smith
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