U.S. Congressman Hoyer: Foreign observers estimate that half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in the country's reeducation-through-labor camps are Falun Gong adherents
(Clearwisdom.net) October 4, 2004 Mr. Speaker, the U.S. State Department's 2004 International
Religious Freedom report for China begins as follows: "During the period covered
by this report, the Government's respect for freedom of religion and freedom of
conscience remained poor, especially for many unregistered religious groups and
spiritual movements such as the Falun Gong."
According to the report, the arrest, detention, and imprisonment of Falun
Gong practitioners continued, and practitioners who refuse to recant their
beliefs are sometimes subjected to harsh treatment in prisons and
reeducation-through-labor camps and there have been credible reports of deaths
due to torture and abuse.
Foreign observers estimate that half of the 250,000 officially recorded
inmates in the country's reeducation-through-labor camps are Falun Gong
adherents.
Falun Gong blends aspects of Taoism, Buddhism, and the meditation techniques
and physical exercises of qigong (a traditional Chinese exercise discipline)
with the teachings of Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi. Despite its spiritual
content, Falun Gong does not consider itself a religion and has no clergy or
places of worship.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution calls upon the government of China to
immediately end the harassment, detention, physical abuse, and imprisonment of
individuals who are exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of religion,
freedom of expression, and freedom of association as stated in the Constitution
of the People's Republic of China.
The importance of this cannot be overstated--the protection of religious
freedom is intimately connected to the protection of other fundamental human and
civil rights, as well as to the growth of democracy.
A government that acknowledges and protects freedom of religion and
conscience is one that understands the inherent and inviolable dignity of the
human person, and is more likely to protect, the other rights fundamental to
human dignity, such as freedom from arbitrary arrest or seizure, or freedom from
torture and murder.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution sends an important message to the government of
China that we will not look the other way when they violate the basic rights of
their people, and that we demand of our partners in the international community
the protection of the most basic human rights--freedom to worship freely.
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