[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 80 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE LANTOS FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUSTICE'S SOLIDARITY SABBATH

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2016

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Lantos 
Foundation's second Solidarity Sabbath, which highlights the deplorable 
human rights violations committed by the People's Republic of China 
against its citizens who simply wish to openly and sincerely practice 
their respective faiths.
  Many of us will attend worship services in the coming days and we 
will do so without fear of arrest, torture, or forced re-education. I 
hope that those of us attending services this weekend will take time to 
meditate and pray on the importance of religious freedom here at home 
and around the world. The human spirit is remarkably resilient. This 
resiliency is undoubtedly strengthened through religious faith and 
practice and cannot and will not be extinguished through the draconian 
state action we see taking place in China. Indeed, as I am sure the 
Chinese government is realizing, its draconian tactics to suppress and 
intimidate the religious faithful do not diminish the numbers of those 
seeking to practice their faith but rather multiplies their number 
exponentially.
  Sadly, there are myriad cases of people of faith being harassed, 
intimidated, and arrested today in China. Indeed, Protestant, Catholic, 
Tibetan Buddhist, Uyghur Muslim, Falun Gong, and other religious 
minorities face such a reality every day. A recent survey of religious 
intimidation in China noted that Chinese officials oversaw the 
demolition of over thirty churches, the removal of more than four 
hundred crosses from houses of worship, and the detention of over three 
hundred worshipers with half of these people suffering injuries 
sustained during their arrests. It should be noted that this paints a 
picture for just one province in China; there are many similar stories 
across China where those seeking to simply practice their respective 
faiths are consistently harassed, detained, and injured for exercising 
a basic human right.
  While we must certainly lend our support to the religious faithful in 
China as they strive to exercise their basic human right to worship 
where, when and what they so desire, we must also applaud and support 
the brave human rights lawyers in China who champion the rights of the 
religious faithful in the face of unthinkable intimidation as practiced 
by the Chinese government. These brave men and women have provided rule 
of law training to church members throughout China. Indeed, this past 
year these lawyers were able to conduct over one hundred trainings for 
over one hundred thousand religious practitioners. This has resulted in 
these practitioners filing important administrative lawsuits against 
the government in an effort to quell the Chinese government's acts of 
religious persecution.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud the Lantos Foundation for its inspired work to 
bring light to the plight of the religious faithful in China. I will 
this weekend, as I always have and will continue to do, stand in 
solidarity with my brothers and sisters of faith in China. Their right 
to practice their religion is a fundamental right and it must be 
protected.

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