Advocacy Group Calls on Foreign Minister Joly to Advocate for Release of Canadian Falun Gong Follower and Others During Visit to China
Falun Gong practitioners in Canada are calling on Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to urge Beijing to stop the “torture and killing” of followers of this spiritual discipline during her visit to China. They are also requesting the release of those imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong, including 11 family members of Canadians and a Canadian citizen.
Ms. Joly’s trip to China on July 18, following an invitation from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, which began on July 20, 1999, as highlighted by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC).
“It is crucial for the international community to condemn the CCP’s human rights violations. We urge you to use this opportunity to demand an end to this ongoing persecution that has lasted 25 years,” stated FDAC national director Grace Wollensak in an email to the minister on July 19.
The email, obtained by The Epoch Times, includes a list of 12 individuals detained by Chinese authorities for practicing Falun Gong, including Canadian citizen Qian Sun. Ms. Sun, who has been sentenced to eight years, is marking her seventh year in prison this year. She has reportedly endured mental abuse and physical torture during her incarceration.
Furthermore, 11 Falun Gong prisoners of conscience who are relatives of Canadians are also facing hardships in Chinese prisons, with sentences lasting up to 16 years.
Referring to a study by human rights advocacy group Freedom House, the FDAC pointed out that millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed over the past 25 years. In March 2020, an independent China Tribunal recognized the persecution of Falun Gong as crimes against humanity and genocide.
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On June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the “The Falun Gong Protection Act,” which aims to address the CCP’s organ harvesting practices and impose sanctions on those involved. The legislation emphasizes that Falun Gong practitioners are victims of widespread forced organ harvesting and specifically targeted for this brutal practice.
Moreover, the U.S. State Department highlighted the human rights abuses suffered by Falun Gong practitioners under the Chinese regime in its latest “Report on International Religious Freedom,” issued on June 26.
Reports reveal that Falun Gong practitioners continue to face harassment and intimidation by the CCP even after leaving China. The FDAC has updated its report, first published in October 2023, detailing how the regime’s foreign interference and transnational repression extend the persecution of Falun Gong outside China’s borders.
