Sens. Menendez, Moran, Colleagues Introduce Resolution in Support of Falun Gong
Statement
U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution expressing support of Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The Resolution condemns the Chinese Communist Party's brutal repression and comprehensive campaign against practitioners of Falun Gong for adhering to their beliefs and practices.
"For over 18 years, the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has subjected them to severe mental and physical abuse and has caused their families countless hours of emotional agony. These grave human rights violations in the People's Republic of China are unacceptable and highlight the need for greater international pressure on the Chinese government to provide all its citizens the freedom to worship in the manner they choose," said Senator Menendez. "As I've said for years, the crackdown on Falun Gong is nothing short of an affront to humanity, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to build consensus so the United States government speaks out more forcefully against the denial of freedom of religion to the citizens of China."
"America must vocally support human rights to challenge other nations to meet basic standards and to demonstrate to those who are oppressed that they are not forgotten," said Senator Moran. "The persistent failure of the People's Republic of China to respect its citizens' fundamental rights of life and conscience is deplorable. This resolution makes clear that Congress will not be silent in the face of the PRC's ongoing persecution of the Falun Gong and its continued heinous practice of harvesting organs of prisoners of conscience, including the Falun Gong."
Joining Senators Menendez and Moran as co-sponsors of the resolution are U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.); John Boozman (R-Ark.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio); Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
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