Congressmen Rally for Falun Gong Freedom
STRONG WORDS: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla), speaking at a rally on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capital in Washington, DC, Thurs. July 14, said "the persecution of FG must end, and it must end now." (Shaoshao Chen/The Epoch Times) Over a thousand Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered on Capitol Hill today in Washington to mark 12 years of persecution of the peaceful spiritual practice also known as Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), in China.
A Senate resolution introduced July 13 is calling on the Senate to mark the official anniversary of the day the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began. It also calls for the CCP to cease and desist from its persecutory campaign.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said during a speech, The persecution of Falun Gong must end, and it must end now.
I find it deplorable that the government of the Peoples Republic of China only protects citizens freedom of religion and spiritual practice if they submit to the authority of the Communist Partyand if they do not, as in the case of Falun Gong, orders an intensive and unforgiving campaign against them that includes abduction, detention, and torture for refusing to recant their practice, said Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), co-sponsor of S. Res. 232, in a statement.
Falun Gong espouses a teaching of the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The practice involves a set of slow-moving exercises and meditation believed to improve health and well-being, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center, an official source of Falun Gong.
The resolution is the first to be introduced in the Senate, and also the first U.S. government resolution to recognize Tuidang, a growing peaceful movement of Chinese people who are withdrawing from ! the Com munist Party. This years rally, held annually, celebrates the approaching milestone of 100 million Chinese who have renounced the Communist Party since 2004.
A Senate resolution introduced July 13 is calling on the Senate to mark the official anniversary of the day the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began. It also calls for the CCP to cease and desist from its persecutory campaign.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said during a speech, The persecution of Falun Gong must end, and it must end now.
I find it deplorable that the government of the Peoples Republic of China only protects citizens freedom of religion and spiritual practice if they submit to the authority of the Communist Partyand if they do not, as in the case of Falun Gong, orders an intensive and unforgiving campaign against them that includes abduction, detention, and torture for refusing to recant their practice, said Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), co-sponsor of S. Res. 232, in a statement.
Falun Gong espouses a teaching of the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The practice involves a set of slow-moving exercises and meditation believed to improve health and well-being, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center, an official source of Falun Gong.
The resolution is the first to be introduced in the Senate, and also the first U.S. government resolution to recognize Tuidang, a growing peaceful movement of Chinese people who are withdrawing from ! the Com munist Party. This years rally, held annually, celebrates the approaching milestone of 100 million Chinese who have renounced the Communist Party since 2004.
AWARENESS - A participant in a rally, "Help End 12-Year Persecution of Falun Gong in China," displays a sign depicting forms of torture inflicted on Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party. The rally was held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capital, in Washington, DC, Thurs. July 14. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times) The Tuidang movement began after the publication of an editorial series in the overseas Chinese language newspaper Dajiyuan, (Chinese language Epoch Times). The series detailed the history of CCP, with a particular focus on its human rights record, and past campaigns targeting the Chinese people, such as the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Soon after the editorials publication, the Dajiyuan website began receiving letters from readers renouncing their affiliations to the CCP. Those letters, including from prominent intellectuals, teachers, and plainclothes police, speak of the suffering endured under communism. The newspaper began compiling the statements; word spread, and the movement grew larger day by day.
It is a massive, peaceful, nonviolent movement happening in China; It is the awakening of the conscience, and morality in China that is irreversible, said professor Sen Nieh, spokesperson for the D.C. Falun Dafa Association, and one of the organizers of the rally.
The seeds of reform are being sown by this wonderful movement, said Congressman Chris Smith, (R-N.J.).
Tuidang is about building a movement that begins to undermine the Communist Party from within. It is kind of like the sinkhole mentality, where there is nothing under it, and pretty soon the ground just sinks, said Smith.
Th is resolution will further empower the Chinese people to break away from the shackle of CCPs despotic rule and eventually obtain the most deserved freedom, said Rong Yi, president of the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party, headquartered in Flushing, New York.
Smith, chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, said that he planned to introduce a similar resolution in the House of Representatives.
Continued: Challenging Evil
Soon after the editorials publication, the Dajiyuan website began receiving letters from readers renouncing their affiliations to the CCP. Those letters, including from prominent intellectuals, teachers, and plainclothes police, speak of the suffering endured under communism. The newspaper began compiling the statements; word spread, and the movement grew larger day by day.
It is a massive, peaceful, nonviolent movement happening in China; It is the awakening of the conscience, and morality in China that is irreversible, said professor Sen Nieh, spokesperson for the D.C. Falun Dafa Association, and one of the organizers of the rally.
The seeds of reform are being sown by this wonderful movement, said Congressman Chris Smith, (R-N.J.).
Tuidang is about building a movement that begins to undermine the Communist Party from within. It is kind of like the sinkhole mentality, where there is nothing under it, and pretty soon the ground just sinks, said Smith.
Th is resolution will further empower the Chinese people to break away from the shackle of CCPs despotic rule and eventually obtain the most deserved freedom, said Rong Yi, president of the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party, headquartered in Flushing, New York.
Smith, chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, said that he planned to introduce a similar resolution in the House of Representatives.
Continued: Challenging Evil
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