Many Canadian Lawmakers Condemn China’s Suppression of Falun Gong
Canadian lawmakers have come together to denounce the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese regime, marking 25 years of severe human rights abuses.
In a joint statement, the lawmakers expressed strong condemnation for the 25 years of human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners in China. They urged the immediate release of all detained Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience in China.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on Buddhist traditions that involves meditative exercises and moral teachings emphasizing truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Since its introduction in 1992, millions have adopted the practice, with estimates suggesting that between 70 million and 100 million people in China alone were practicing by the late 1990s.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sees Falun Gong as a threat to its atheist ideology due to its popularity and spiritual teachings. The regime launched a campaign on July 20, 1999, to eliminate the practice, resulting in cases of torture, sexual abuse, mental abuse, and deaths from live organ harvesting.
A significant initiative, initiated by Liberal MP Judy Sgro, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong, garnered support from 38 incumbent MPs and senators, as well as a provincial lawmaker.
“This is an opportunity for us to stand in solidarity and affirm the importance of ending the long-standing persecution of these peaceful practitioners,” Ms. Sgro wrote in an email statement to her colleagues, obtained by The Epoch Times.
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International Condemnation
On July 20, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international organization of cross-party lawmakers, issued a separate statement condemning the CCP’s suppression of Falun Gong.
“Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned, with an unknown number subjected to severe forms of torture, including credible reports of state-sponsored forced organ harvesting,” the group stated in the platform X.
“No minority, regardless of their beliefs, should be deprived of basic rights. We urge our governments to demand that Beijing immediately stop its persecution of religious minorities and adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which China has signed.”
Various international efforts have been made to end the CCP’s oppression of Falun Gong, as indicated in the Canadian lawmakers’ statement. It referenced a 2007 U.S. State Department Human Rights report that highlighted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak’s findings that Falun Gong practitioners accounted for 66 percent of alleged torture victims in government custody.
On June 25, the House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R. 4132), the first U.S. legislation addressing Beijing’s harsh crackdown on Falun Gong to progress through the chamber. The bill explores potential sanctions and visa restrictions for those involved in the atrocities.
Similar initiatives have been seen in Europe.
In January 2024, the European Parliament adopted resolution 2024/2504 (RSP), urging Beijing to “immediately halt the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and other minorities.” It also calls on the Chinese government to “end domestic and international surveillance, control, and suppression of religious freedom.”
Signatories
Lawmakers from Canada’s major parties have signed a joint statement condemning China’s persecution of Falun Gong. Signatories include Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Liberal MPs Judy Sgro, Ken Hardie, Kevin Lamoureux, Mark Gerretsen, Valerie Bradford, and Yvan Baker. Conservative MPs like Melissa Lantsman and others have also signed the statement, along with Independent MP Kevin Vuong and several former officials.
Eva Fu contributed to this report.
