Statement of Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California Regarding Resolution 188

July 22, 2002

Freedom of thought is the most basic of all freedoms, but it is a liberty that is under attack. The Chinese government's campaign against the Falun Gong constitutes a campaign against freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of belief.

This persecution must end. For that reason, I was proud to cosponsor Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's resolution expressing the sense of Congress that "the United States Government should use every appropriate public and private forum to urge the Government of the People's Republic of China" to release from detention all Falun Gong practitioners, to end its torture of all prisoners of conscience, and to abide by the International Covenant on Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I would like to use this public forum to reaffirm my commitment to human rights and to restate my strong opposition to China's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners as well as ethnic minorities and religious and political dissidents. I urge you to continue to be strong in the face of persecution and to remain steadfast in nonviolent resistance. As Martin Luther King Jr. taught us: "Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding, and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."