FDI: Members of Congress, NGOs Join Thousands of Falun Gong Practitioners in Rally on Capitol Hill
Hosted
by former U.S. Ambassador, Mark Palmer, 6 Members of Congress and 14 NGO leaders addressed the rally
in person, while 3 Senators and 8 House Representatives either sent staff members or rally
volunteers read their statements to the gathering.
Four
years ago this past weekend, hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners rushed to Washington DC to seek
help from the U.S. government for fellow practitioners in China who, two days before, had become the
victims of an apparently sudden, nation-wide persecution campaign in the world's most populous
country.
Then-Chinese
leader, Jiang Zemin, had orchestrated the campaign, and ordered Chinese authorities to utilize
whatever means necessary -- arbitrary detention, forced-labor, extortion, torture,
"brainwashing" sessions and even killings -- to "eradicate" the practice. According to
Party veterans, Jiang believed the peaceful nature of Falun Gong would make it an easy target for a
political campaign to boost his own power-base, and that the practice could be crushed "within
three months" (special report).
Four
years later, the rally on Capitol Hill aimed to send a clear message to Jiang and his supporters
within the Chinese regime: "We will not waver," declared Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(FL-R). "We will not stop until the reign of terror which began four years ago, and the
persecution of the Falun Gong is brought to an end."
Members
of Congress Condemn Widespread Torture and Killings
Congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-R), who has been an ardent supporter of Falun Gong and who initiated House
Concurrent Resolution 188 to the Congress last July (news), was the first
Member of Congress to speak, highlighting the violence against Falun Gong in China.
"The
reign of terror which began on July 20th, 1999 when police broke into the homes of hundreds of
innocent Falun Gong practitioners continues to this very day," said Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen.
"Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners suffer grave abuses while in police custody. The
police torture practitioners with electric batons...women practitioners are raped in front of other
prisoners, with several reports of gang rapes at the forced labor camps. Electric prods were used to
beat female practitioners in sensitive areas of their bodies."
Congresswoman
Ros-Lehtinen also took aim at the regime that authorized the persecution. "Violence against
Falun Gong practitioners is an officially sanctioned policy as revealed in secret Chinese
documents...a special government task force has been created -- the '6-10 Office' (about) in Beijing to lead the
campaign against Falun Gong. This office affords wide range of action to Chinese authorities in
dealing with the Falun Gong, discharging them of legal responsibility if a practitioner dies in
detention due to these incessant beatings."
Congressman
Steven Rothman (NJ-D) echoed Ros-Lehtinen's condemnation of the
Chinese regime: "I have joined with my colleagues in the Congress...to let [the Chinese regime]
know their persecution of the Falun Gong, cannot stand, will not be tolerated, will not be ignored,
and until they eliminate the persecution of the Falun Gong, they will never be right in the eyes of
the American Congress and the American people," the New Jersey Congressman said. "It has been a
great honor and privilege for me -- ever since I came to Congress -- to be a supporter of the
Falun Gong."
Congresswoman
Lynn Woolsey (CA-D), who introduced House Concurrent Resolution 447 last year condemning the
Chinese regime's attempts to persecute Falun Gong in the U.S. (special report),
spoke about the plight of fellow Californian, Dr. Charles Li. "We are all here to work for freedom
in China. But no sacrifice is more than the dream of Charles Li, an American citizen imprisoned by
the Chinese government" (news).
Ms.
Woolsey added, "China's repression must end. We must declare that intolerance is intolerable. We
must continue Falun Gong's struggle for freedom in China, and in so doing, we will strike a blow for
freedom everywhere."
Reps.
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-R), Sherrod Brown (OH-D), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-D) also
delivered speeches at the rally, while Reps. Frank Wolf (VA-R), Tom Lantos (CA-D), Christopher
Smith (NJ-R) and Dennis Moore (KA-D) sent legislative assistants with prepared speeches
to be delivered at the rally.
United
States Senators Frank Lautenberg (NJ-D), Paul Sarbanes (MD-R), and Christopher Bond
(MO-R) and Reps. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-D), Michael Capuano (MA-D), Charles
Gonzalez (TX-D) and Mark Udall (CO-D) each sent statements to be read at the rally by
volunteer rally organizers.
Over
30 non-governmental organizations and groups participated in the rally, including the World
Organization Against Torture, Hudson Institute, Religious Freedom Coalition, Family Research
Council, Freedom House, Friends of Falun Gong, Population Research Institute and Fellowship of
Reconciliation.
Prominent
NGO Commends "Courage and Vision" of Falun Gong Practitioners
Hudson
Institute Senior Fellow Mr. Michael Horowitz devoted much of his speech to commending the courage
and faith of Falun Gong practitioners.
"As
I've watched the Falun Gong...I know that it carries with it a great force of love, for nothing else
can explain your awesome courage and vision," said Mr. Horowitz. "If your example continues and
if we work to support you in every way we can...the 21st Century will be a century in which faith
predominates...you [Falun Gong] lead the way."
Mr.
Horowitz continued, "And I hope, I pray, I commit myself to this vision. That Zhizhen Dai's
daughter will know why her father [who was tortured to death by Chinese police for his practice of
Falun Gong] had the courage he did....will know that his courage brought freedom to millions. That
will be the story of the 21st Century, and when its history is written, the Falun Gong will occupy
great, great chapters in it."
Religious
Freedom Chairman States Startling Statistic on Communist Regimes
William
J. Murray, Chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition surprised rally attendees when he opened his
remarks with a startling statistic: "In the 20th Century," began Mr. Murray, "Communist
governments killed more of their own citizens, than human beings that have died in all the wars in
all the history of mankind."
A
significant contributor to this startling figure was the death toll incurred during the "Great
Leap Forward" -- a mass movement to "modernize" China ordered by the late-Chairman Mao
between 1958-1960. According to the Cambridge History of China, the estimated number of deaths
during the "Great Leap Forward" was between 16 and 27 million people with over 10 million dying
in 1960 alone. Some China experts have put the death toll at 30 million.
Subsequent
Communist Party movements that swept through China in the last 40 years, such as the "Great
Cultural Revolution" of the 1960's and 1970's killed untold numbers.
In
2000, CNN's Senior China Analyst, Willy Wo-Lap Lam, equated the campaign against Falun Gong with
these previous Communist Party movements. "Jiang has mobilized a Mao-era mass movement against [Falun
Gong]," wrote Mr. Lam.
Also
like previous movements in Communist China, Mr. Lam's article suggests the campaign was undertaken
by Jiang to consolidate his own power-base. "The most severe criticism leveled at Jiang's handling
of the Falun Gong is that he seems to be using the mass movement to promote allegiance to
himself," Mr. Lam wrote.
Related
article: Photo Report
###
NEWS - Jul. 27, 2003 Falun
Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is
a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for
thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in
traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the
religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth
throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.
With
government estimates of as many as 100 million
practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful
of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush
the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun
Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the
practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
The
Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 757 deaths (reports / sources)
since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China,
however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that
figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000
being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER
WASHINGTON DC (FDI)
-- Statements from U.S. Senators, Congresspersons and prominent non-governmental organizations
joined a chorus of voices on Capitol Hill Tuesday, condemning the Chinese regime's four-year
persecution of Falun Gong. Speakers also applauded the "courage" and non-violent nature of
practitioners of the ancient Chinese exercise and meditation discipline. (photo report)
Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net
Background
Contacts: Gail Rachlin (+1 917-501-4441), Levi Browde (+1 914-720-0963), Erping Zhang (+1
646-533-6147), or Feng Yuan (+1 917-941-1097).
Fax: 646-792-3916 Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com,
Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/
Mailbox of FalunInfo editor@faluninfo.net
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