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Falun Gong practitioners exercise in Washington, D.C., July 15. Falun Gong, an exercise and meditation practice whose adherents abide by the principles of truthfulness, kindness, and forbearance, has been persecuted in China for over 12 years. (Alex Ma/The Epoch Times)
In March last year, the United States House of Representatives passed a five-page resolution calling on China to stop persecuting practitioners of Falun Gong.
In a near unanimous vote, H.R. 605 was passed urging Chinese communist authorities to stop imprisoning and torturing adherents of Falun Gong; to release all Falun Gong practitioners from forced labor camps; and to disband the 6-10 office, the extra-judiciary security apparatus set up to “eradicate” Falun Gong.
The resolution was welcome, but more needs to be done, says Jeffrey Imm, Washington, D.C.-based human rights activist.
As founder and director of Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), a Washington-based advocacy group, Imm says the United States needs to hold communist China to account for its actions.
“They were good words about what to do,” he told The Epoch Times, “but I don’t know how much of that has really been acted on.”
Imm believes that pressure on China’s regime should not only come from President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department, but also international coordination programs and the financial sector.
“We cannot simply just [continue] to buy [products], and say, ‘Well, it’s cheap’ and ignore that slave labor is being used,” he said, adding, “We need to enforce that economically as well.”
The extent of human rights abuse in China, the persecution of Christians, plus that of women and children through forced abortion and labor camps, has received too little attention, said Imm.
“It is like being able to glance into an alternative world where Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party were still alive and driving, and everyone is looking the other way.”
“It is unbelievable that we would look the other way … I can only imagine people buying products and saying it is made in Nazi Germany and saying, ‘Wow, that is a good deal.’ The idea is horrifying; it’s beyond imagination.”
Through R.E.A.L, Imm has issued a statement in support of Falun Gong and called for more action on human rights abuses in China: “We call for real courage of the United States government to make this and other human rights abuses … a priority in discussions and meetings with [communist China].”
Locals Stand Up for Falun Gong
Falun Gong, an exercise and meditation practice whose adherents abide by the principles of truthfulness, kindness, and forbearance, has been persecuted in China for over 12 years.
Initially praised by communist leaders for its health benefits, Falun Gong’s rising popularity eventually became viewed as a threat to communist rule, sparking years of brutal oppression. Mere discussion of the practice has been an excuse for incarceration.
A recent Amnesty International “Urgent Action,” regarding two detained Falun Gong practitioners from Hebei province, hints at growing public support for Falun Gong within China, despite the threats.
In response to the incarceration and torture of practitioners Zhou Xiangyang and his wife Li Shanshan, local residents have banded together and collected a petition that has reached almost 3,000 signatures, Amnesty reported.
Calling for Chinese authorities to stop the suppression of Falun Gong, Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Asia, said: “In a gesture that’s rarely seen in China, thousands of ordinary people have dared to publicly show their support for individuals unfairly imprisoned and tortured in detention. This shows that the Chinese public is aware of and condemns persecution of people for their spiritual beliefs.”
While the U.S. government and activists have taken strong stands on human rights abuses occurring in other places, like Sudan, Imm says: “There seems to be less of a willingness to challenge [China] and the [re-education-through-labor (RTL)] camps. That is simply not right.”
R.E.A.L. is hosting what has now become an annual International Human Rights Day event at the National Press Club, on Dec. 8. The event will have a number of groups, including Falun Gong, tell their stories.“We see a lot of effort by individual groups for one cause, so we try to have a Human Rights Day representing multiple groups,” Imm said.
