(Clearwisdom.net) United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Professor Heiner Bielefeldt spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong on October 21, 2010, at the UN General Assembly at the headquarters in New York. A Chinese delegate responded by calling Falun Gong an "evil cult," stating the CCP's intent and policy was to "eradicate" Falun Gong, and claiming that the Chinese government's policy of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners was correct.
It is rare that a CCP delegate would admit that the persecution exists or acknowledge the severity of the persecution openly to the international community. The delegate clearly stated that Falun Gong practitioners must be "punished severely" and "eradicated." His response completely exposed the hypocrisy of the CCP's long advertised policy of so-called "care, love, transformation, and education" of Falun Gong practitioners.
The CCP has denied again and again the use of brutal torture in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. However, Minghui.net publishes daily reports about specific persecution cases through various channels in China. These reports are first hand accounts, and the practitioners and witnesses involved are usually still in China living in the dangerous environment under CCP rule.
In early July 2010, the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) held its annual international conference in the United States. CCP authorities sent three delegates to the conference: Deputy Secretary-General Cheng Ningning of the Chinese Anti-Cult Association, Chinese Psychologist Wang Wenzhong, and Shanxi Province 610 Office special expert Chen Qingping. These delegates reported on their so-called "care, love, transformation, and education of Chinese evil cult members." Other conference attendees pointed out that the CCP report was based on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and was contrived to deceive the international community. The conference organizers condemned the report.
In fact, the CCP's "severe punishment" of Falun Gong practitioners has been ongoing for 11 years. Their overwhelming propaganda campaign in the early years and the cruel treatment of practitioners provoked concern, discussion, and condemnation from all over the world. In order to carry on the persecution, the CCP agents modified their approach and continued the persecution inside China while covering it up when dealing with international criticism on its human rights abuses and use of torture. The CCP has been deliberately attempting to cover up the real situation and the truth about the persecution. However, the Chinese delegate's outburst showed how the CCP views and has been treating Falun Gong practitioners all this time.
In the international community, many western countries' media and governments have learned, via direct or indirect channels, the truth about the persecution. On March 16, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Resolution No. 605 (with 412 votes to 1) demanding that the Chinese government stop the policy of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
Professor Bielefeldt's predecessor, Ms. Asma Jahangir, also strongly opposed any government having the power to decide for its citizens what a true religion is. She believes that beliefs should be determined by the adherents.
China is a signatory to the Convention on Human Rights and therefore is obligated to follow the content of the convention. The CCP's behavior today presages the inevitable inability of China to cover up the persecution for much longer.