[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 123 (Monday, October 4, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7994-H7997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OPPRESSION BY CHINA OF FALUN
GONG IN UNITED STATES AND CHINA
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 304) expressing the sense of
Congress regarding oppression by the Government of the People's
Republic of China of Falun Gong in the United States and in China.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 304
Whereas Falun Gong is a peaceful spiritual movement that
originated in the People's Republic of China but has grown in
popularity worldwide and is now accepted and practiced by
thousands in the United States;
Whereas demonstrations by Falun Gong practitioners in the
People's Republic of China and the United States have been
peaceful, meditative sessions;
Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China
provides to the citizens of that country freedom of speech,
assembly, association, and religious belief;
Whereas members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement,
members of Chinese pro-democracy groups, and advocates of
human rights reform in the People's Republic of China have
been harassed, libeled, imprisoned, and beaten for
demonstrating peacefully inside that country;
Whereas the Chinese Government has also attempted to
silence the Falun Gong movement and Chinese prodemocracy
groups inside the United States;
Whereas on June 12, 2003, 38 Members of Congress filed an
Amended Brief of Amicus Curiae in support of the Falun Gong
at the United States District Court, Northeastern District of
Illinois, Eastern Division;
Whereas Chinese consular officials have pressured local
elected officials in the United States to refuse or withdraw
support for the Falun Gong spiritual group;
Whereas Dr. Charles Lee, a United States citizen, has
reportedly been mentally and physically tortured since being
detained by Chinese authorities in early 2003;
Whereas the apartment of Ms. Gail Rachlin, the Falun Gong
spokeswoman in the United States, has been broken into 5
times by agents of the Chinese regime since the regime banned
Falun Gong in 1999 in China;
Whereas over the past 5 years China's diplomatic corps has
been actively involved in harassing and persecuting Falun
Gong practitioners in the United States;
Whereas on June 23, 2003, Falun Gong practitioners were
attacked outside a Chinese restaurant in New York City by
local United States-based individuals with reported ties to
the Chinese Government;
Whereas 5 Falun Gong practitioners were assaulted outside
of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago on September 7, 2001,
while exercising their constitutionally protected rights to
free speech, leading to battery convictions in Cook County
Criminal Court of Jiming Zheng on November 13, 2002, and
Yujun Weng on December 5, 2002, both assailants being members
of a Chinese-American organization in Chicago, the Mid-USA
Fujian Township Association, which maintains close ties with
the Chinese Consulate;
Whereas individuals that physically harassed Falun Gong
practitioners in San Francisco on October 22, 2000, were
later seen at anti-Falun Gong meetings and the Chinese
Consulate in San Francisco;
Whereas San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly, after
receiving complaints that Chinese officials were intimidating
his constituents, authored a resolution condemning human
rights violations and persecution of Falun Gong members by
the Chinese Government;
Whereas Mr. Daly and the other members of the San Francisco
City Council subsequently received a letter from the Chinese
Consul General in San Francisco, claiming that Falun Gong was
an ``evil cult'' that was undermining the ``normal social
order'' in the People's Republic of China, and that Mr.
Daly's resolution should therefore be rejected, which it
subsequently was;
Whereas in November 2000, the former Mayor of Saratoga,
California, Stan Bogosian, issued a proclamation honoring the
contributions of Falun Gong practitioners to the Saratoga
community, which prompted the Chinese Consulate in San
Francisco to write to Mr. Bogosian urging him to retract his
support for local Falun Gong activities;
Whereas many local and national media organizations have
reported that other local officials across the United States,
including the mayors of several major cities, have been
pressured by Chinese consular officials to recant statements
of support for the Falun Gong;
Whereas journalists have cited fear of hurting trade
relationships as the motivation for some local United States
officials to recant their support for Falun Gong after
receiving pressure from Chinese consular officials; and
Whereas the Constitution of the United States guarantees
freedom of religion, the right to assemble, and the right to
speak freely, and the people of the United States strongly
value protecting the ability of all people to live without
fear and in accordance with their personal beliefs: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Government of the People's Republic of China
should--
(A) 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;
(B) cease using the diplomatic missions in the United
States to spread falsehoods about the nature of Falun Gong;
(C) release from detention all prisoners of conscience,
including practitioners of Falun Gong, who have been
incarcerated in violation of their rights as expressed in the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China;
(D) immediately end the harassment, detention, physical
abuse, and imprisonment of individuals who are exercising
their legitimate rights to freedom of religion, including the
practices of Falun Gong, freedom of expression, and freedom
of association as stated in the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China; and
(E) demonstrate its willingness to abide by international
standards of freedom of belief, expression, and association
by ceasing to restrict those freedoms in the People's
Republic of China;
(2) the President should, in accordance with section
401(a)(1)(B) of the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)(1)(B)), and with the intention of
dissuading the Chinese Government from attempting to stifle
religious freedom in the People's Republic of China and the
United States, take action such as--
(A) issuing an official public demarche, a formal protest,
to the Chinese Foreign Ministry in response to the repeated
violations by the Chinese Government of basic human rights
protected in international covenants to which the People's
Republic of China is a signatory; and
(B) working more closely with Chinese human rights
activists to identify Chinese authorities who have been
personally responsible for acts of violence and persecution
in the People's Republic of China;
(3) the Attorney General should investigate reports that
Chinese consular officials in the United States have
committed illegal acts while attempting to intimidate or
inappropriately influence Falun Gong practitioners or local
elected officials, and, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, determine an appropriate legal response; and
[[Page H7995]]
(4) officials of local governments in the United States
should--
(A) in accordance with local statutes and procedures,
recognize and support organizations and individuals that
share the goals of all or part of the local community,
including Falun Gong practitioners; and
(B) report incidents of pressure or harassment by agents of
the People's Republic of China to Members of Congress, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 304, the
resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would like to commend my colleagues, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Woolsey) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee),
for their dedication and support of this resolution. I would also like
to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), as well as the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), our ranking member, and our
entire leadership for bringing this resolution to the floor today.
I rise today to call attention to the horrific specter of the
repression imposed upon a peaceful spiritual movement, the Falun Gong,
by the largest authoritarian regime in the world today, the Communist
regime in China.
On July 22, 1999, a date which will live in the annals of human
rights violations as a day of infamy, the Beijing authorities declared
the Falun Gong illegal, branding it a so-called ``evil cult.'' This
immediately prompted mass arrests, torture and reported deaths of Falun
Gong practitioners in official custody, which continues unabated to
this present day.
These Falun Gong practitioners still in Chinese custody include at
least one American citizen, Dr. Charles Lee. Members of Congress have
repeatedly called for his immediate release, and we renew that call
here today.
This chamber has repeatedly condemned the Chinese regime's abhorrent
violations of human rights and the violations of freedom of belief and
conscience of the Falun Gong. We have done so by rendering our
overwhelming support to bipartisan resolutions that I have introduced
with my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), and
numerous others.
However, H. Con. Res. 304 is different. This resolution before us
today is addressing something even more ominous. With over 70
cosponsors, this resolution focuses on reports and investigations on
the use of fear, intimidation and oppression, often connected with
violence, right here within the borders of our own country, within the
United States.
Falun Gong practitioners, while peacefully and nonviolently
exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly,
have been intimidated from California to New York by agents of the
Chinese regime. They have, as we have outlined in this resolution, been
physically harassed on the streets of San Francisco, assaulted on the
streets of Chicago outside of the Chinese consulate and attacked on the
streets of New York by individuals with reported ties to the Chinese
regime.
Let those listening to this debate, including representatives of any
foreign governments having strategies for suppressing free speech in
this country, remember one thing: This is the United States of America,
the cradle of freedom and democracy. We will not sit idly by as you
infringe upon the rights of our citizens and residents who practice
Falun Gong. Any interference in the exercise of free speech inside our
land will result in the expulsion of those who engage in such actions.
In the land of the free, all voices will be heard. In the home of the
brave, a hundred or more flowers will bloom, including the Falun Gong's
spiritual movement.
I ask my colleagues to send a clear message to the Chinese regime and
to immediately and unconditionally stop its deplorable treatment of the
Falun Gong spiritual movement, both inside China and specifically here
in the United States.
I ask for a ``yes'' vote on H. Con. Res. 304.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I strongly support this resolution. It is a very important
resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.
Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago, the Chinese government launched a very
brutal crackdown of the Falun Gong spiritual movement throughout China.
Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were brutally beaten,
thrown in jail and tortured.
{time} 2000
Over 800 Falun Gong practitioners have been killed and tens of
thousands remain locked up in Chinese prisons, in psychiatric
institutions, and reformed through labor camps. The ongoing Chinese
suppression of the Falun Gong is one of the greatest human rights
abuses of our time and will, undoubtedly, be marked as one of the
darkest periods in modern Chinese history.
Congress has repeatedly spoken out against the repression of Falun
Gong practitioners in China. The resolution before us today, however,
focuses the spotlight on a new element of the Chinese Government's
anti-Falun Gong campaign, the attempt to quash any support for Falun
Gong in the United States.
Over the past 5 years, Chinese diplomats in the United States have
engaged in a campaign of intimidation and pressure against Falun Gong
practitioners here in the United States and those who advocate on their
behalf. Apparently not satisfied with the brutal suppression of Falun
Gong adherence in China, China has decided to export these repressive
policies to the United States.
As the resolution notes, local officials in the United States have
been pressured to vote against resolutions condemning the persecution
of Falun Gong. Practitioners of Falun Gong in the United States have
also been harassed and physically assaulted by individuals associated
with Chinese diplomatic missions. Media organizations attempting to
fairly cover the treatment of Falun Gong have been pressured by Chinese
officials, particularly if their papers ran editorials critical of the
Chinese Government.
Mr. Speaker, the Chinese Government's heavy-handed tactics against
Falun Gong in the United States will backfire. As Americans see
firsthand the extremes to which the Chinese Government will go to stop
Falun Gong, sympathy for the plight of Falun Gong practitioners
everywhere is sure to grow. Mr. Speaker, this resolution puts the
Congress firmly on record against such pressure tactics, and I strongly
support its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Woolsey), whose leadership on this issue is to be commended and
who has worked in a bipartisan fashion with the gentlewoman from
Florida to bring this resolution to the floor.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res.
304, a resolution that condemns the harassment of Falun Gong
practitioners in China and here in the United States. I first want to
thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), with whom I
coauthored and introduced this important resolution in October of last
year. I also want to thank the House leadership for allowing this
important legislation to come to the House floor, and the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Lee) for yielding me this time.
Finally, I want to thank the loyal and dedicated Falun Gong
practitioners who have diligently stopped by my offices over the last 2
years. It has been my pleasure to work with them on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, in April of 1999, 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners staged
a peaceful demonstration in front of the Communist Party headquarters
near Tiananmen Square. They protested China's oppressive regime. Of
course,
[[Page H7996]]
we are all familiar with the events that took place in Tiananmen Square
in 1989, when thousands of individuals protesting the Chinese regime
were brutally beaten and many killed, but China's abuses of Falun Gong
practitioners both in China and here in the United States have not
received the same attention.
China's rulers have condemned Falun Gong since the 1999 protest,
calling this peaceful spiritual movement an evil cult, and embarking on
an official campaign to eradicate the movement. China has imprisoned,
tortured, and even murdered hundreds of people simply because they
peacefully practice Falun Gong. Included among those who have been
jailed and tortured are American citizens of Chinese descent.
Charles Lee, a California native, is one such victim. In the year
2003, he traveled to China to visit his extended family. Immediately
upon stepping off the airplane, Charles Lee was arrested by Chinese
officials. Despite the United States State Department appeals for his
release, he has been jailed and tortured in a Chinese prison since his
abduction.
Other American Falun Gong practitioners have been assaulted, robbed,
and harassed right here in America. Miss Gail Rachlin, the Falun Gong
spokeswoman in the United States, has had her New York apartment broken
into not once, not twice, but five times over in the last 5 years; and
it appears the break-ins have been by Chinese agents.
China's diplomats to the United States too have been actively
involved in harassing and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners here in
the United States. When San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly heard
some of his constituents had been harassed by Chinese officials, he
authored a resolution for the San Francisco Board condemning the
persecution of Falun Gong members by the Chinese Government. In
response, the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco sent Mr. Daly a
harshly worded letter, claiming that Falun Gong undermines the normal
social order in China and should be condemned.
The same experience has been repeated time and time again in dozens
of cities across the country. A local official introduces a resolution
in support of Falun Gong, and in response the Chinese consulate in the
U.S. condemns that resolution as well as the local official who
sponsored it.
Mr. Speaker, that is why H. Con. Res. 304 expresses the sense of
Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China
immediately stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political
freedoms within the United States, including the right to practice
Falun Gong. This resolution also states that China immediately cease
its harassment, detention, and torture of any individual exercising his
or her legitimate rights to freedom of religion, freedom of expression,
and freedom of association, as affirmed by the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China.
The right to practice the religion or spiritual movement of one's
choice is ingrained in the very fabric of the United States
Constitution. That is why it is counter to what we stand for in our
country that Chinese officials have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners
and harassed local American officials right here in our country.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.
Send a strong message to China that we demand the proper treatment of
both Americans and Chinese individuals who practice the Falun Gong
spiritual movement.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge passage of H.
Con. Res. 304, expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of
the People's Republic of China should cease its persecution of Falun
Gong practitioners in the United States and in China. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen,
I commend you for introducing this legislation and for speaking out
against human rights abuses throughout the world.
Members of Congress need to be aware of the brutal suppression of
human rights and religious freedoms being carried out by the People's
Republic of China. From forced abortion and labor camps, to the
imprisonment and sometimes even execution of brave Chinese who dare to
stand up for their faith or political beliefs, Hu Jintao's regime, like
that of Jiang Zemin before, is one of the worst violators of human
rights in the world.
While Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and Muslim Uighurs are all being
persecuted for the faith, the suffering of peaceful Falun Gong
practitioners has been especially intense. In 1999, China's dictators
launched a brutal campaign to completely eradicate Falun Gong from
their country through whatever means necessary, claiming that Falun
Gong was a threat to ``social order'' in China. The reason behind this
campaign of brutality is clear: by the mid to late 1990s, the number of
Falun Gong practitioners began to exceed the number of members of the
Communist Party. Like all dictators and totalitarian terror systems,
the PRC fears and hates what it cannot control. So it sought to destroy
and intimidate those who practice Falun Gong. I would also note that
the regime has labeled as ``cults'' and is now oppressing other groups
with followings comparable to that of the Falun Gong, such as the Xiang
Gong, Guo Gong, and Zhong Gong qigong groups.
Falun Gong is not a religion, per se, but rather more like a
philosophy. Based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and
Tolerance, Falun Gong uses a series of five physical and mental
exercises to assist its members to purify themselves spiritually and
peacefully resolve conflicts. Whatever one may say about the merits of
their beliefs, the evidence is very clear that Falun Gong practitioners
are peaceful individuals who want to be left alone to practice their
beliefs as they see fit.
To carry out the task of smashing those who practice Falun Gong, the
Beijing dictatorship created ``610'' offices throughout China to
oversee and direct the persecution of Falun Gong through brainwashing,
torture, and murder.
The State Department Human Rights Report for 2003 has several pages
documenting the plight of the Falun Gong. We know at least 250 Falun
Gong members have died as a result of torture thus far. For instance,
in only a three-month period from June to August last year, more than
50 Falun Gong died in custody, many from torture in detention camps.
Other estimates place the total body count higher. Bodies of the
tortured victims are often cremated immediately to conceal evidence of
torture. The report indicated that Falun Gong adherents sent to mental
health institutions have been administered psychiatric drugs and
electric shock treatments by Chinese authorities.
Several thousand Falun Gong practitioners--estimated at 125,000 or
higher--are held in labor camps, prisons, and mental hospitals, where
they are forced to endure torture brainwashing sessions. For example,
in December 2003, Liu Chengjun, sentenced to 19 years in prison in
March 2002 for involvement in illegal Falun Gong television broadcasts,
was reportedly beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison.
The government continues to find new ways to crack down on Falun
Gong. Over the past year, the Government initiated a comprehensive
effort to round up practitioners not already in custody and sanctioned
the use of high-pressure tactics and mandatory anti-Falun Gong study
sessions to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong. Even
practitioners who had not protested or made other public demonstrations
of belief reportedly were forced to attend anti-Falun Gong classes or
were sent directly to reeducation-through-labor camps, where in some
cases, beatings and torture reportedly were used to force them to
recant. These tactics reportedly resulted in large number of
practitioners signing pledges to renounce the movement.
At the National People's Congress session in March, Premier Wen
Jiabao's Government Work Report emphasized that the Government would
``expand and deepen its battle against cults,'' including Falun Gong.
Thousands of individuals were still undergoing criminal,
administrative, and extrajudicial punishment for engaging in Falun Gong
practices, admitting that they adhered to the teachings of Falun Gong,
or refusing to criticize the organization or its founder.
During April to June 2003, the Government launched fresh accusations
that Falun Gong practitioners were disrupting SARS-prevention efforts.
State-run media claimed that, beginning in April, Falun Gong followers
``incited public panic'' and otherwise ``sabotaged'' anti-SARS efforts
in many provinces by preaching that belief in Falun Gong will prevent
persons from contracting SARS. Authorities detained hundreds of Falun
Gong adherents on such charges, including 69 in Jiangsu Province during
May and 180 in Hebei Province during June.
But Beijing is not confining its disgusting torture and brainwashing
campaign to its own people. Chinese-American citizens and permanent
residents are also victims. One American citizen, Dr. Charles Li, was
arrested January 22, 2003 in China upon his arrival at an airport. A
Falun Gong practitioner, the Chinese government alleges he attempted to
sabotage television and radio equipment, even though he had just
arrived in the country. Dr. Li has gone on continual hunger strikes to
protest his
[[Page H7997]]
arrest but been subject to forced feedings. There are reports that he
is being subjected to brainwashing and anti-Falun Gong propaganda. At
least 37 other Falun Gong practitioners who have family members that
are residing in the U.S. are also in prison in China. Authorities also
detained foreign Falun Gong practitioners from other countries. For
example, in January 2003, two Australian citizens were deported for
engaging in Falun Gong activities in Sichuan Province.
As my colleagues know, a sizeable number of Falun Gong practitioners
reside here in the United States. They attempt to raise awareness about
the horrors their fellow believers are subject to through meeting with
government officials and through holding peaceful protests. Just this
past August, Falun Gong members gathered on the Mall to pass out
literature and inform Americans of the great suffering those in their
faith are enduring. When Hu Jintao and other state leaders responsible
for this purge are visiting foreign countries, Falun Gong members
travel overseas to protest and raise awareness of the brutal
persecution.
In response, China's persecution against the Falun Gong has moved
outside of China's own borders. Large numbers of Falun Gong in the
United States have reported to have been harassed. The FBI is currently
investigating beatings of Falun Gong practitioners in Atlanta and
Chicago. On June 23, 2003, Falun Gong practitioners in New York were
harassed and physically violated by Chinese nationals associated with
the consulate. Charges have been filed with the authorities. Li Li and
some of her friends were involved with this incident.
Persecution of Falun Gong in China is horrific enough itself. The
fact that China is now exporting its repression to weaker foreign
nations under the guise of ``safety'' and ``public order'' is even
worse. The cancer of China's repression is spreading all over the
world. The PRC is not content to beat and torture and silence those
inside its own borders. Now it is seeking to bully other nations into
doing its bidding. When will this country wake up and stand up to this
kind of nonsense?
I call upon all members of this body to support H. Con. Res. 304. I
call on the administration to step up its efforts to speak up for the
Falun Gong and out against the actions of the Chinese government
immediately.
Mr. HOYER. 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.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support for H.
Con. Res. 304, a resolution honoring the tradition and practice of
Falun Gong. As a cosponsor of this resolution, I urge my colleagues to
vote yes on this important piece of legislation.
H. Con. Res. 304 calls on the Chinese Government to stop interfering
with the religious and political rights of individuals in the United
States to practice Falun Gong. The Chinese Government has gone so far
as to spread falsehoods about Falun Gong and to harass, detain, abuse
and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners are simply
exercising their legitimate right to freedom of religion and
expression, and the actions of the Chinese Government conflict with
international standards of freedom and human rights and must end
immediately.
I have an admiration for the practitioners and adherents of Falun
Gong and I am invested in the movement both in the United States and
abroad. I remain committed to the task of making Falun Gong safe to
practice in any country in the world. The members of Falun Gong are
opposed by a Chinese government that unjustly views them as dissenters.
This view is entirely without merit. In reality, Falun Gong is an
inherently peaceful, apolitical movement that stresses nonviolence and
meditation. Since Falun Gong was outlawed in 1999, hundreds of
nonviolent practitioners have been arrested, tortured, libeled, and
detained without charge or proof of any wrongdoing.
Sadly, the unwarranted and unprovoked aggression against Falun Gong
has not ceased, nor is it limited to China. There have been unprovoked
attacks in the United States and Falun Gong members have been subjected
to a humiliating and denigrating blacklist.
One incident that I found particularly offensive took place in June
2003. Falun Gong members were attacked and beaten while holding a
nonviolent protest in New York City. In an effort to end the
discrimination that confronts Falun Gong practitioners, I wrote a
letter to the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau,
requesting an investigation of this case. I hope that justice prevails
in this case.
With passage of H. Con. Res. 304, we can send a strong signal
condemning China's human rights abuses and we can take one step closer
to ensuring Falun Gong members the freedom of religion and assembly
guaranteed to them by law.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con.
Res. 304.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________