Congress Should Ban Lobbying for China, Says Former Rep. Frank Wolf

Frank Wolf, a commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and a former Virginia Congressman, speaks at the 25th anniversary of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act on October 23, 2023. (Li Chen/The Epoch Times)

In an event at the Senate promoting international religious freedom on Oct. 23, commissioners expressed that China should be held internationally accountable and sanctioned for the persecution of various religious groups such as Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong, and Christians.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) that was signed into law on Oct. 27, 1998, during the Clinton administration, which puts religious freedom at a higher priority for U.S. foreign policy.

IRFA established the position of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom in the U.S. Department of State and created the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“I think one recommendation that Congress should take is: ban lobbying for China,” said Frank Wolf, USCIRF commissioner and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

China remains a CPC (Country of Particular Concern) designated country for 24 years straight since 1999 under the IRFA for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

China, Country of Particular Concern

In his talk, Mr. Wolf introduced his experience of visiting Tibet.

“I’ve been in Tibet [and] seen what every monastery has—a public security police there. Can you imagine in your own church or your own synagogue to have the secret police there when you’re going in to worship?” said Mr. Wolf.

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He mentioned that 80 percent of the world’s population lives in a religiously repressive nation and environment, according to a Pew survey.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) honors the 25th anniversary of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act with a ceremony at the Federal Senate on Oct. 23, 2023. (Li Chen/The Epoch Times)

“We see it taking place in China: the Catholic Church, the Protestant church—genocide—a cultural genocide against the Tibetan Buddhists … actual genocide against the Uyghur Muslims, the Falun Gong—we’ve seen 60,000 a year harvesting of their organs, and it’s just so brutal we see what’s taking place,” said Mr. Wolf.

In his talk, Mr. Wolf recommended that Congress should ban lobbying for any country that is a CPC-designated country for four years straight.

Mr. Wolf emphasized to The Epoch Times that China “should not be able to have a Washington lobbyist here in town,” he said, and the Congress can pass legislation and it could be done by executive order.

Commissioner David Curry also believed that there’s a lot more that can be done “by the Senate and the House and this administration.” And what the UN should do is “China should be kicked out of all of the committees which it’s leading,” because the CCP’s “breaking all of the international laws,” and “that would be a good first step for the international community,” said Mr. Curry to The Epoch Times.

The Fight for Religious Freedom

Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), co-chairman of the International Religious Freedom Caucus, said that the commission will continue to strive to fight for the persecuted religious minorities such as the Falun Gong, the Uyghurs, the Tibetans in China, the Yazidis and Christians in the Middle East and Africa, and the Muslim minorities around the world.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) believes it’s necessary to “take on the bad actors around the world, whether it’s China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, in this unholy alliance that they have teamed up in and hold them accountable for the human rights violations, the war crimes, and religious bigotry that they have engaged in.”

He said that “part of the problem that we’re dealing with, frankly, is a lack of faith in the public sphere, a lack of faith in our discourse. And we see society, in some respects, crumbling before us. The vitriol, the hatred, the bigotry, the anger, the fact that in our public debate, there’s a lack of respect for diversity of opinion.

“We immediately ascribe adjectives to those we disagree with, politically or on a policy. And it’s disruptive. And I think we have to get back to the core of what unites us, what brings humanity together, and it is religion,” said Mr. Lawler.

The Heinous Crime

Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline founded on the principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance, featuring a set of five exercises. Its extraordinary healing and fitness benefits made it immensely popular. Prior to 1999, the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China was estimated by the state to range between 70 to 100 million, reported the Falun Dafa Information Center.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), however, was concerned that this exceeded its own membership, and initiated a campaign in 1999 to eradicate and suppress the practice.

In 2016, an updated investigative report by former Canadian Cabinet minister David Kilgour, international human rights lawyer David Matas, and award-winning China analyst and human rights investigator Ethan Gutman revealed that China conducted approximately 60,000 to 100,000 transplants per year since 2000. The main source of these organs, as reported, was Falun Gong practitioners.

Since the forced organ harvesting was exposed, the CCP has engaged in a series of acts to hide its heinous crimes of persecution of Falun Gong for their organs. Recently, the CCP State Council approved a revised draft of regulations on human organ donation and transplantation.

In response to China’s claim, Frederick Davie, vice chair of USCIRF and a senior strategic adviser to the president at Union Theological Seminary, said that “legal organ donation is one thing, forced organ donation is hideous, and harvesting organs from live individuals is odious, and there’s no justification for it,” Mr. Davie told The Epoch Times.

As for why the CCP particularly targets religious groups, Mr. Curry believes that the CCP does not want anything to challenge its communist ideology.

He said that the CCP is “against any religious expression that would challenge the loyalty of their people.”

“For China to be part of the international community of nations, they need to honor human rights, people’s freedom to practice their own faith,” insisted Mr. Curry.

Li Chen contributed to this report.