Standing in front of the Texas Capitol, members of the spiritual community Falun Gong from all over the state rallied together on July 20 to call for an end to the Chinese government’s continuous human rights abuses.
“We are holding this event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Falun Gong persecution…to commemorate our fellow practitioners in China, and we appeal to everyone to help us stop this persecution,” said Sean Yang, the head of the Southern USA Falun Dafa Association.
Falun Gong practitioner Cooper Nizz from Dallas, Texas attended the rally to “show support against the persecution.” He said practicing Falun Gong has helped him feel “much happier” and answered all of his existential questions.
Founded in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong is based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and includes a set of meditative exercises.
Oregon native Logan Bauer has practiced Falun Gong for 15 years. He said the three guiding principles of Falun Gong have helped him be a “better” and “kinder” person.
“I came here to help people know about the persecution, and my hope is that the more people that know, the less the lies will influence people,” said Mr. Bauer.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Relentless Persecution
By 1999, almost 70 million to 100 million people from all socioeconomic backgrounds in China were practicing Falun Gong.
On July 20 that same year, Falun Gong practitioners across China had their lives turned upside down when the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the time, Jiang Zemin, single-handedly launched a brutal crackdown on the spiritual practice.
Falun Gong practitioner William Shu suffered the persecution before he was even born. Since the CCP had blacklisted Mr. Shu’s mother when she was pregnant, Mr. Shu was also not allowed to have any identification to be able to attend school.
“Everything changed,” Mr. Shu said that hundreds of millions of people suddenly became the “enemy of the government, enemy of communism” overnight, and any mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners was “justified.”
In the past two decades, many Falun Gong practitioners fled China to the U.S. for the freedom to practice their faith. Some among them chose to reside in Texas – where they can advocate for the rights of their fellow practitioners in mainland China.
“I am grateful to the United States and Texas for giving my daughter and me a warm and safe home,” said Audrey Lamb, who was fired from her high-ranking job and was imprisoned by the Chinese police when her daughter was only one year old – all because she practiced Falun Gong.
“They forced me to sit on a small bench from 7am until 11pm, causing the skin on my bottom broken and bleeding, causing unbearable pain. One time after sitting until 8 or 9pm, I stood up and fainted, I was sent to the hospital and injected with unknown drugs,” said Gu Li Qing.
Qing was tortured severely in detention centers and unable to see her father before he passed away.
Rebecca Chen has lived in the U.S. since 2015, but she still remembers clearly what happened behind the prison bars in China.
“I was forced to work 15 hours a day making export products such as rugs, tablecloths…The day before, I had seen three practitioners who were smiling, but the next day, the labor camp announced that they had each committed suicide. One of them was a young woman who had just received her PhD degree and was preparing to study abroad. To my mind, it made no sense that they had killed themselves, since it violates the tenets of Falun Gong,” said Rebecca.
Killed for Organs: Victims Tell Their Stories
Under the brutal persecution, Falun Gong practitioners across China have not only lost jobs and livelihoods. They’ve also been illegally arrested, tortured, killed, and targeted for state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting for profit, according to a 2019 independent people’s tribunal.
The practitioners who spoke at the rally recounted their experience witnessing forced organ harvesting practices during imprisonment.
“We were forced to have blood drawn for a blood match. They didn’t care about your health because some of us had broken arms, but we were still forced to work…They were storing data for organs. People were taken away at any time, and their whereabouts were unknown,” said Falun Gong practitioner Haiying Wang.
William Shu also shared about his father’s time in prison. “Four months after I was born, he was arrested without warrants, without jury, without trial or any legal proceedings or called due process…they imprisoned him and tortured him and he was also subjected to forced labor and toxic drug injections. And also at the same time, he witnessed the occurrence of force organ harvesting happening in his prison cell.”
Texas Lawmakers Respond to the 25th Year of Ongoing Persecution
On June 15 this year, the U.S. House passed a bipartisan bill, the Falun Gong Protection Act, to ban the CCP’s forced organ harvesting and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) sponsored the legislation alongside 18 other lawmakers, including three Texas Representatives, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) , Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), and Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX).
“The U.S. must stand up against such transgressions and advocate for the human rights of Falun Gong,” stated Rep. Brian Babin who co-sponsored the Falun Gong Protection Act.
Falun Gong practitioners at the rally thanked many Texas officials for their longstanding support and leading legislative efforts to counter the persecution.
Almost exactly one year ago, Texas Governor Greg Abbott also signed into law the bipartisan Senate Bill 1040 sponsored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst to combat the practice of forced organ harvesting in China. Many co-sponsors of the bill sent their statements of support for the rally, as they weren’t able to attend the event.
Sen. Angela Paxton said she thanked Falun Gong practitioners for holding the rally and “standing up for human dignity, specifically spreading awareness of the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting.”
“Texas will not be complicit in these crimes against humanity,” Sen. Charles Perry said in a statement.
As an outspoken lawmaker against the CCP’s human rights violations, Rep. Tom Oliverson from Houston wrote he would “continue to take a firm stance against these brutal practices and advocate for justice for the victims.”
Rep. Jacey Jetton also commended the practitioners for “shining a light on the religious persecution by the CCP,” because speaking the truth and raising their voices could “sway hearts and minds.”
Speaking on behalf of Texas, Rep. Matt Shaheen affirmed the state’s stance on the CCP’s violent campaign against Falun Gong.
“The State of Texas is behind you and supports you and appreciates all that you are doing. We stand with you, the 150 members of the Texas House the 31 members of the Texas Senate, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House. It is our position that we fully condemn this practice.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, whose father fled to the U.S. after being tortured and imprisoned in communist Cuba, also sent a statement of support to Falun Gong practitioners at the rally.
“The CCP’s antagonism towards religious freedom is emblematic of communist regimes and is deeply ingrained in their ideology. This is why we must stand together in the face of such persecution and intolerance. Inaction is not acceptable,” he wrote.
NTD Houston contributed to this report.
