September 6, 2000

We practitioners of Falun Gong gather today from across the globe, having journeyed from Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Taiwan, and elsewhere to express our indignation over China's continued persecution of Falun Gong in China. As world leaders meet this week at the U.N. Millennium Summit, we call upon China's President Jiang to do three things: one, to engage Falun Gong in genuine, peaceful dialogue; two, to lift the ban on Falun Gong without delay and end the persecution; and three, to immediately release all jailed and detained Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Since July 1999, the Chinese communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has escalated. According to the world media and human rights groups, over 50,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested or detained. At least 10,000 have been sent to labor camps without trial, and some 600 persons have been forced into mental facilities where they have been abused through anti-psychotic or sedative drugs and electric shocks. At least 49 Falun Gong practitioners have reportedly died from maltreatment in police custody. Millions of Falun Gong books, videotapes, and audiotapes have been confiscated and burned. China's regime has conducted show trials for over 500 Falun Gong practitioners, handing out stiff sentences of up to 18 years in prison.

Falun Gong is a spiritual practice rooted in ancient Chinese culture. The practice is peaceful and apolitical. It consists of meditation, gentle exercises, and the guiding principles of Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance.

To this day, the only so-called crime these people have committed was their attempt to exercise their rights to freedom of belief, assembly, and speech; yet these rights are constitutionally enshrined in China and are guaranteed by the two international treaties China signed in 1997 and 1998. Rather than upholding the rule of law, Chinese officials have made a mockery of due legal procedure by creating so-called anti-cult "laws" that have been applied retroactively. Falun Gong is one of many groups persecuted under this pretense.

A number of international organizations have expressed their deep concern and opposition to China's behavior, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House. Here in North America, the Congress of the United States unanimously passed a resolution condemning China's violent persecution of Falun Gong. For their support and that of many others, we stand in appreciation.

As President Jiang meets this week with world leaders, we remind China that it, too, must be held to the same human rights standards as all U.N. member states. We appeal to the international community to continue expressing its opposition. We urge President Clinton and all world leaders gathered in NY to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. The rule of law in China must be enforced. Systematic human rights abuses are unacceptable under any guise. China: The world is watching.