26 July 2002
Washington -- China's struggle against the [...] Falun Gong movement has led it to harass followers of that group in the United States, according to lawmakers here.
In debate over House Concurrent Resolution 188 (H. Con. Res. 188) July 22, members of the House of Representatives denounced China's crackdown on the Falun Gong there, and also called upon Beijing to stop harassing "citizens and residents of the United States who practice Falun Gong."
China's representatives should also "cease their attempts to put pressure on officials of state and local governments in the United States to refuse or withdraw support for the Falun Gong and its practitioners," H. Con. Res. 188 stated.
H. Con. Res. 188, with 100 co-sponsors, sailed to victory July 24 with a 420-0 vote.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican of Florida), who introduced H. Con. Res. 188 last year, told fellow lawmakers that the Beijing regime's persecution of the Falun Gong in China since July 1999 constitutes "deplorable and inhumane behavior," and that these practices were now being employed in the United States against the Falun Gong.
Falun Gong practitioners in the United States, Ros-Lehtinen said, "are the victims of death threats, of car bombs, of vandalism against their homes, of cyber attacks and harassment."
The Florida Republican, who is the chairwoman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, spoke of "increased evidence linking Chinese officials to this wave of persecution."
It was imperative, she added, that the United States act "swiftly and decisively to address this serious matter."
The Chinese government must be made to understand, Ros-Lehtinen said, that "such behavior will not be tolerated in this country and that violators will be held accountable for their actions."
Representative Diane Watson (Democrat of California), a member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, noted that some Falun Gong followers who have fled China to come to the United States [and also some who had been living in the U.S. -- editor] have filed lawsuits in U.S. Federal courts that claim Chinese embassies and consulates have been responsible for harassment here in the United States.
The Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Watson added, "recently heard testimony from local government officials, including some from my own home State of California, that they have been subject to pressure from Chinese diplomats to renounce proclamations of support for Falun Gong by local city councils.
"Mr. Speaker, it is important that the United States Congress strongly condemn such outrageous behavior and stand with local officials in the United States who wish to speak out for human rights in China," the California Democrat said.
Representative Lynn Woolsey (Democrat of California) told fellow lawmakers that she plans to introduce a resolution that will deal specifically with China's interference with Falun Gong practitioners in the United States and "Chinese efforts to interfere with local American officials."
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