San Francisco: Government Officials Show Support at Press Conference Regarding U.S. House Resolution 304 (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom correspondent reports from San Francisco: On October 29, 2004, California Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to inform the public that the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 304 urging the Chinese Government to cease its oppression of Falun Gong practitioners in the U.S. and in China. A number of California government officials were present at the press conference and expressed their support. Attendees included California Congressman Tom Lantos' representative, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's representative, City of San Francisco Council Member Chris Daly, and former Mayor of Saratoga and current Council Member, Stan Bogosian.

On the evening of October 4, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 304 urging the Chinese government to immediately stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political freedoms within the United States, such as the right to practice Falun Gong, that are guaranteed by the United States Constitution. The resolution also urges China to cease using diplomatic missions in the U.S. to spread falsehoods about the nature of Falun Gong and release from detention all prisoners of conscience, including practitioners of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong spokesperson in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Adam Leining, said that in July 1999, former Chinese President Jiang outrageously initiated the suppression of Falun Gong. Since then, Falun Gong practitioners in China have experienced tremendous tortures both physically and mentally. Many practitioners have died as a result of the persecution. This oppression has been a huge disaster for China. Mr. Leining said that practitioners have been continuously clarifying the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution. Several U.S. government officials are also working closely with Falun Gong practitioners to condemn the persecution and appeal for human rights in China. He expressed practitioners' thankfulness to these righteous officials who have supported Falun Gong and who protect practitioners' basic rights. He said that these government officials would not allow the Jiang faction to export the persecution to the U.S.

U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, a co-sponsor of Resolution 304, sent her representative, Ms. Anita Franzi, to attend this news conference. Ms. Franzi said in a speech that in 2003, Chinese-American citizen Charles Lee, a California resident, went back to China to visit his family. He was immediately arrested by the Chinese authorities when he stepped off the airplane. Although the U.S. State Department has requested China to release him, he is still incarcerated and has been mentally and physically tortured since being detained.

Ms. Franzi also enumerated several incidents of the persecution of Falun Gong being extended overseas: the apartment of Ms. Gail Rachlin, a Falun Gong spokeswoman in the United States, has been broken into 5 times, and those who committed the crimes seemed to be agents of the Chinese regime; San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly, who authored a resolution condemning human rights violations and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Government, subsequently received a threatening reply from the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco.

Ms. Franzi pointed out that these facts demonstrated why Resolution 304 would request the Chinese government to immediately stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political freedoms within the United States, freedoms that are protected by the American Constitution. She said that the members of the U.S. Congress and the American people hope to see an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong.

Council Member of the City of San Francisco, Mr. Chris Daly, said that in 2001 he authored a resolution condemning the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong. San Francisco has a history of being supportive of human rights. However this time, because his colleagues received a letter from the Chinese Consulate which was full of false claims against Falun Gong, the resolution was not passed. Mr. Daly said that he was very happy to learn that Resolution 304 was passed. This resolution sent out a strong voice to request the elected American leaders to acknowledge and support those organizations, including Falun Gong, who share the same goals with the community. Mr. Daly expressed that he would once again propose a resolution in support of Falun Gong in the City Council and hopes that this time they would be free of interference from the Chinese Consulate.

Former Mayor of Saratoga and current City Council Member Mr. Stan Bogosian said that in 2000 he issued a proclamation in honor of Falun Gong. A few weeks later, officials from the Chinese Consulate demanded that he withdraw the proclamation, but Mr. Bogosian rejected their demand. He pointed out that all people, including officials of the Chinese Consulate, should enjoy the right to participate in the democratic process and express their own opinions. However, Mr. Bogosian said that what the Chinese Consulate did to him already went beyond this scope freedom of expression, and that it amounted to a personal threat. Mr. Bogosian also said that he believed that Resolution 304 is really important. One can imagine that if there is such a policy in place, and if similar incidents occur in the future, local elected officials can seek help from the federal government. He hoped that the Chinese officials who have harassed Falun Gong practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong, should be investigated and their behavior should be stopped.

Mr. Lu Hui, a representative from the San Mateo chapter of Amnesty International (AI) said that AI supports freedom of belief. He said that Charles Lee was also a representative of AI Group 466 in San Mateo County. He had actively participated in the rescue of prisoners of conscience who were persecuted by the Chinese government. He said, "We are very concerned about the persecution and torture Charles has experienced in China. We have been writing letters and sent postcards to rescue Charles." He said that AI supports Resolution 304. "As a peaceful belief, Falun Gong practitioners have their right to exercise their belief and we demand the Chinese government to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong."

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/10/31/88013.html

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