[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 101 (Friday, July 22, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1581-E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1581]]
 ADDRESSING THE GRAVE HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ABUSES OF THE 
                           CHINESE GOVERNMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 22, 2005

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
profound concerns over the People's Republic of China's, PRC, 
persistent efforts to squash religious freedom and religious 
expression. As a senior member of the House International Relations 
Committee, I have worked--along with like-minded colleagues in the 
House and Senate--to send a strong, consistent message to repressive 
regimes like the PRC that membership in the community of nations 
requires a real commitment to support and advance democratic 
governance, political openness, respect for human rights, and promotion 
and protection for the freedom of speech and religion. Tragically, this 
message continues to fall upon deaf ears and the persecution of 
religious freedom continues; as best exemplified by the PRC's campaign 
of repression against members of the peaceful Falun Gong movement.
  Many of us have become familiar with the case of the Falun Gong--also 
known as Falun Dafa--a religious movement which combines a regimen of 
exercise with meditation. According to its practitioners, the beliefs 
of Falun Gong are derived from qigong, a set of movements that 
stimulate the flow of vital energies throughout the body. As I 
understand it, the practice teaches the virtues of truthfulness, 
compassion, and forbearance, while warning against moral degeneration 
and materialism.
  Since 1999, because the members of this peaceful practice dared to 
ask their government for official recognition and their constitutional 
rights to free speech, press, and assembly, the PRC has systematically 
and ruthlessly cracked down on the practitioners of Falun Gong. Yet the 
Falun Gong were only one of many groups to face persecution. On October 
30, 1999, China's National People's Congress promulgated an ``anti-
cult'' law, retroactively suppressing the Falun Gong movement and 
thousands of other religious sects across the country; closing 67 
teaching stations and 1,627 practice sites in Beijing alone.
  Subsequently, the PRC detained and questioned over 30,000 followers 
nationwide, and charged Falun Gong leaders with numerous crimes, 
including: organizing superstitious sects, disrupting public order, 
leaking state secrets to foreigners, and engaging in unlawful assembly 
and publication. Between 150 and 450 group leaders and other members 
were tried and sentenced to terms of up to 18-20 years in prison; and 
an estimated 10,000 to 100,000 citizens have spent time in detention or 
``labor reeducation'' camps solely because of their religious beliefs.
  In fact, the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom 
Report of 2004 stated that ``the Government [ of China] continued its 
repression of groups that it categorized as `cults' in general and of 
the Falun Gong in particular.'' Moreover, the arrest, detention, and 
imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners continued as they respectfully 
refused to recant their beliefs. As a result, they are being 
continually subjected to harsh treatment in prisons and re-education 
through labor camps--many times resulting in deaths due to torture and 
abuse. For example, in December 2003, Falun Gong practitioner Liu 
Chengjun died after reportedly being abused in custody in the Jilin 
Province. The report went on to state that the Chinese Government 
``tends to perceive unregulated religious gatherings or groups as a 
potential challenge to its authority, and it attempts to control and 
regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups or sources of 
authority outside the control of the Government and the CCP.'' The U.S. 
Department of State--for 6 consecutive years--has designated China as a 
``Country of particular concern'' for ``particularly severe violations 
of religious freedom,'' especially as it pertains to the persecution of 
Falun Gong members.

  It is in part due to the brave and courageous writers at The Epoch 
Times--a Chinese-language newspaper and publisher of the Nine 
Commentaries on the Communist Party--that we have an accounting of this 
religious persecution and the numerous other dangerous activities of 
the PRC. The Commentaries present an uncensored and honest history of 
the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, effectively and poignantly detailing 
the brutal conditions under the CCP which have prompted over 3 million 
Chinese to make public statements renouncing all ties to Communism. By 
now, over 300 public forums of the Nine Commentaries and 100 public 
rallies--with tens of thousands of supporters--have been held in more 
than 50 major cities throughout the world. I applaud and commend their 
tireless efforts to show the world what is truly happening inside 
China.
  Mr. Speaker, the right to religious freedom is firmly enshrined in 
both our own Bill of Rights as well as the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights, Article 18; and a nation's adherence to this principle is 
now widely understood to be a strong indicator of the good governance 
required to protect the rights of minorities and safeguards of social 
peace. The importance of promoting religious freedom cannot be 
overstated. In many ways, the promotion of religious freedom is 
intimately connected to the promotion of other fundamental human and 
civil rights, as well as to the growth of democracy. Once believers 
cannot convene, worship, and publish their literature, there is 
essentially no freedom of expression, freedom of association, and 
freedom of press.
  As we work to spread the ideals of democracy to areas of the world 
that have languished in the shadow of tyranny, we must also carry 
forward the simple but powerful message that every person has a right 
to religious freedom and fight to roll back the tide of religious 
repression whenever and wherever it threatens to spread across the 
globe.
  To that end, I ask my colleagues to join with me to support efforts 
in the U.S. Congress that seek to highlight the plight of and express 
American support for all the innocent citizens who have been imprisoned 
unfairly; and to continue to stress to China's leaders that the 
American people are firmly committed to defending religious freedom 
throughout the world.
  In closing, I would respectfully commend to my colleagues' attention 
an open letter to the world written by Yeong-Ching Foo to rescue her 
fiance Charles Li, one of the many Falun Gong practitioners persecuted 
by the People's Republic of China; and I would like to have the text of 
this letter placed into the Congressional Record following my 
statement.

                    Open Letter To Rescue Charles Li

       Fellow Americans: My fiance, a former post doctoral 
     researcher of Massachusetts General Hospital, is jailed by a 
     government which has inflicted on its own people wars, 
     famine, tyranny, massacre, and terror. Now my fiance's life 
     and fate are at its disposal. Over two and a half years have 
     passed since Charles was arrested in China. Since the very 
     beginning of his arrest, every day has been a nightmare. I 
     have not been allowed to hear his voice, but not once have I 
     stopped thinking about how he is doing. I can't imagine the 
     abuse he suffers and the brainwashing sessions he is forced 
     to constantly attend.
       Charles has been subjected to other forms of torture; I 
     cannot list them all. He could have lost his life twice, and 
     over 2\1/2\ years, the authorities have been trying to take 
     away his soul with brainwashing. We should never have given 
     them the chance to hurt him like that. Charles must be 
     rescued back immediately.
       In June 2003, after Charles had not had food in his stomach 
     for almost eight days, Chinese guards shoved a tube into his 
     stomach and left it there for 33 hours.
       In July 2003, Charles was physically forced by inmates that 
     were instigated by the authorities to attend a brainwashing 
     class to renounce his belief in Falun Gong. They knocked 
     Charles down to the ground and dragged him by the feet down a 
     flight of stairs, causing bruises all over his body.
       In December 2004, Charles was tortured until he experienced 
     fast heart beats and shortness of breath. He was forced to 
     sit up straight with his head facing forward and was not 
     allowed to move for 4 to 7 hours each day. He was tortured 
     like this for 48 consecutive days.
       Charles went to China trying to stop the persecution of 
     Falun Gong in China by trying to expose the atrocity and 
     brutal persecution of Falun Gong that is based on lies. 
     Persecution of Falun Gong is carried out in a large scale to 
     the extent where the former communist ruler, Jiang Zemin 
     himself handed the propaganda of Falun Gong to high officials 
     outside China; building `6-10 offices', a Gestapo-like 
     organization set up to eradicate Falun Gong throughout the 
     whole world. This was confirmed by Hao Fengjun, a former 
     policeman in the `6-10' office, defected to Australia. He 
     verified that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in 
     China is indeed extremely brutal (See http://
enqlish.epochtimes.com/news/5-6-10/29446.html).
       For each hour that Charles is held captive in China, his 
     life is endangered. My heart has been bleeding for over 888 
     days by now! All this time, I have been very strong and 
     forbearing. Actually, without my practice of Falun Gong that 
     teaches me Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, I know I 
     would have gone crazy.
       Since Charles' arrest, I have appealed to you--Charles' 
     fellow Americans--for support and help in rescuing him. The 
     response has been overwhelming and we are both very grateful. 
     Two summers ago, after a series of van tours across the U.S. 
     when thousands of people expressed their support, Charles' 
     treatment improved. But as public attention turned to other 
     issues, his situation has worsened. As long as Charles is 
     still in jail, I will not stop trying to bring him home, but 
     I need your help.
       The United States was founded on the principle of freedom 
     of belief, as those who fled religious persecution in England 
     were seeking independence in the New World. The Chinese 
     people also seek spiritual independence

[[Page E1582]]

     and an escape from the lies and hate that have plagued them 
     under the CCP. I am proud of Charles for the risk he took to 
     try and accomplish that in peaceful, non-violent way. I am 
     proud of him for his courage.
       Charles should be rescued back immediately, and 
     unconditionally. I believe that, together, we, the American 
     people and the US government, will not let him down.
       ``My family, friends and I are fortunate to have so much 
     help and support from you ever since I have been illegally 
     detained and persecuted. We all appreciate it very much. As 
     time goes by, I believe that the truth will be revealed to 
     you. The persecution of Falun Gong is totally illegal and 
     brutal. And also, as Dr. King says, injustice anywhere is a 
     threat to justice everywhere. Thank you very much! Yours Very 
     Sincerely, Charles Li''--From a letter written in jail by 
     Charles to US officials, May 16, 2003.
       Let's rescue our fellow US citizen back from the hand of 
     the Chinese Communist Party and let the moral value and 
     conscience be awakened! Thank You!
           Yours sincerely,
     Yeong-Ching Foo.

                          ____________________