[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING PERSECUTION OF FALUN GONG

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                               speech of

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 16, 2010

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 605, a resolution 
recognizing the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in 
China on the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party campaign 
to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The resolution also 
calls for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong 
practitioners.
  The Chinese government's abuse of the Falun Gong is well-documented. 
The State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report, 
found that the Government of China, ``continued to restrict severely 
the activities of groups it designated as `evil religions,' including 
several Christian groups and Falun Gong. . . . There are reports that 
dedicated government offices were responsible for coordinating 
operations against Falun Gong.''
  Just last week, the State Department released its annual Human Rights 
Report which included numerous examples of the Chinese government's 
persecution of the Falun Gong including the following: ``Family members 
of activists, dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, journalists, 
unregistered religious figures, and former political prisoners were 
targeted for arbitrary arrest, detention, and harassment.'' The report 
continued, ``Police continued to detain current and former Falun Gong 
practitioners and used possession of Falun Gong material as a pretext 
for arresting political activists. The government continued its use of 
high-pressure tactics and mandatory anti-Falun Gong study sessions to 
force practitioners to renounce. Falun Gong.''
  Among the most notorious human rights abuses of the Chinese 
government last year was the arrest and subsequent disappearance of top 
Christian human rights attorney, Gao Zhisheng. Gao had defended house 
church Christians and Falun Gong members which earned the ire of the 
government. According to the State Department, ``At year's end his 
whereabouts remained unconfirmed . . .'' Prior to his arrest Gao had 
published a letter in which he went into great detail about the torture 
he experienced during his previous detention. Gao has paid dearly for 
his defense of basic human rights including those of Falun Gong 
practitioners.
  China has become increasingly brazen in its human rights abuses. In 
the face of this repression, America has a responsibility to 
continually affirm that we stand with the defenseless--with those whose 
voices have been silenced. President Reagan understood this well. He 
famously described the U.S. Constitution as a covenant we have made not 
only with ourselves but with all of mankind. This Congress and this 
administration must be unwavering in our support of all persecuted 
peoples, be they Coptic Christians in Egypt, Baha'is in Iran or Falun 
Gong in China.

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