Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Support Falun Gong Practitioners in China
The 10th anniversary of the start of the Falun Gong persecution in China is July 20. It really is one of the cruelest persecutions of our time, and the media is rather silent on reporting it. Hmmm, wonder why?
Congressional letter calls Falun Gong plight “one of the most unjust and cruel persecutions of our times.”
WASHINGTON DC — In a bi-partisan letter sent to President Obama yesterday, sixty one members of Congress urged the President to “speak very clearly and specifically” in support of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
“We applaud these members of Congress,” says Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Mr. Erping Zhang, “for articulating in no uncertain terms that the United States government will not tolerate the arbitrary arrest, torture and death of Falun Gong practitioners — peaceful, law-abiding citizens — as a result of a systematic Communist Party-run campaign. We hope President Obama and his administration will heed their call.”
Initiated by Congressmen Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), the letter highlights how Falun Gong practitioners were first targeted by the Chinese regime ten years ago and how an extrajudicial security force known as the “6-10 Office” was established to stamp out the traditional Chinese practice. “The ‘6-10 Office’ ruthlessly implements the ban [on Falun Gong],” the letter states, “through massive propaganda campaigns intended to demonize Falun Gong and…supervises the arbitrary detention, beating, torutre and ‘transformation through reeducation’ of Falun Gong practitioners.”
Read more at Falun Info Center.
Harbin Family Suffers Second Death from Torture
51-year-old Falun Gong Practitioner Died Last Month; Brother-in-law died in 2007; Wife still imprisoned, at risk of torture
New York—A Falun Gong practitioner imprisoned in Harbin’s Daqing Prison died on May 23, 2009 due to abuse in custody, the Falun Dafa Information Center recently learned. Mr. Li Min (??) died at the age of 51, after being tortured and denied medical care when he suffered the symptoms of a stroke.
Li is just one of several family members who have been victims of severe rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese authorities because of their identity as Falun Gong practitioners. In 2007, Li’s brother-in-law died in custody at a labor camp after being tortured. Li’s wife is currently imprisoned in Harbin’s Women’s Prison and at risk of abuse.
“Falun Gong spread in the 1990s primarily by word of mouth as people saw their relatives and friends’ health and outlook on life improve. So it was not uncommon for multiple members of one family to take up the practice,” says Falun Gong spokesperson Erping Zhang. “But that’s also why – ten years into a brutal persecutory campaign – it is not uncommon for multiple members of a single family to have been killed, tortured, or imprisoned.”
“The story of Li Min and his family is not an exceptional case. Rather, it is a microcosm of the way in which the CCP’s campaign against Falun Gong has targeted one of the most fundamental units of Chinese society, making forced separation, torture, and death a daily reality for millions of families across China.”
Getty Closer to 10th Annivesary of Falun Gong Persecution
July 20 will mark the 10th year of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China by the Chinese communist regime. Thousands of practitioners and supporters are expected to participate in activities in Washington, D.C., plus many more all around the world.
Interestingly, the year 2009 sees the 50th anniversay of the Tibetan takeover, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and now the 10th anniversary of the Falun Gong persecution.