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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 447 Introduced in House (IH)]

107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 447

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Chinese Government's 
   oppression of Falun Gong in the United States and in the People's 
                           Republic of China.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2002

   Ms. Woolsey (for herself, Mr. Hilliard, Ms. Lee, and Mr. Lantos) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
   the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Chinese Government's 
   oppression of Falun Gong in the United States and in the People's 
                           Republic of China.

Whereas Falun Gong is a peaceful spiritual movement that originated in China but 
        has grown in popularity worldwide and is now accepted and practiced by 
        thousands in the United States;
Whereas demonstrations by Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of 
        China and the United States have been peaceful, meditative sessions;
Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China provides to the 
        citizens of that country freedom of speech, assembly, association, and 
        religious belief;
Whereas members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, members of Chinese 
        prodemocracy groups, and advocates of human rights reform in the 
        People's Republic of China have been harassed, libeled, imprisoned, and 
        beaten for demonstrating peacefully inside that country;
Whereas the Chinese Government has also attempted to silence the Falun Gong 
        movement and Chinese prodemocracy groups inside the United States;
Whereas Chinese consular officials have pressured local elected officials in the 
        United States to refuse or withdraw support for the Falun Gong spiritual 
        group;
Whereas individuals that physically harassed Falun Gong practitioners in San 
        Francisco, California, on October 22, 2000, were later seen at anti-
        Falun Gong meetings and the Chinese consulate in San Francisco;
Whereas San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly, after receiving complaints 
        that Chinese officials were intimidating his constituents, authored a 
        resolution condemning human rights violations and persecution of Falun 
        Gong members by the Chinese Government;
Whereas Mr. Daly and the other members of the San Francisco City Council 
        subsequently received a letter from the Chinese consul general in San 
        Francisco, claiming that Falun Gong was an ``evil cult'' that was 
        undermining the ``normal social order'' in the People's Republic of 
        China, and that Mr. Daly's resolution should therefore be rejected, 
        which it subsequently was;
Whereas in November 2000, the former Mayor of Saratoga, California, Stan 
        Bogosian, issued a proclamation honoring the contributions of Falun Gong 
        practitioners to the Saratoga community;
Whereas Mr. Bogosian was given a letter from the Chinese consul in San Francisco 
        that strongly urged Mr. Bogosian to retract his support for local Falun 
        Gong activities;
Whereas many local and national media organizations have reported that other 
        local officials across the United States, including the mayors of 
        several major cities, have been pressured by Chinese consular officials 
        to recant statements of support for the Falun Gong spiritual group;
Whereas the United States and the People's Republic of China have developed an 
        extensive trading relationship that is beneficial to local communities 
        in both countries;
Whereas journalists have cited fear of hurting trading relationships as the 
        motivation for some local United States officials to recant their 
        support for Falun Gong after receiving pressure from Chinese consular 
        officials;
Whereas notwithstanding rights provided by the Consitution of the People's 
        Republic of China, the Government of that country has repeatedly and 
        consistently suppressed expression by its citizens of freedom of 
        religion, speech, press, assembly, association, procession, and 
        demonstration inside the People's Republic of China, and is now 
        projecting its restrictive practices into the local affairs of the 
        United States; and
Whereas the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion, 
        the right to assemble, and the right to speak freely, and the people of 
        the United States strongly value protecting the ability of all people to 
        live without fear and in accordance with their personal beliefs: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the Government of the People's Republic of China 
        should--
                    (A) immediately stop interfering in the exercise of 
                religious and political freedoms within the United 
                States, such as the right to practice Falun Gong, that 
                are guaranteed by the United States Constitution;
                    (B) cease using the diplomatic missions in the 
                United States to spread falsehoods about the nature of 
                Falun Gong;
                    (C) release from detention all prisoners of 
                conscience, including practitioners of Falun Gong, who 
                have been incarcerated in violation of their rights as 
                expressed in the Constitution of the People's Republic 
                of China;
                    (D) immediately end the harassment, detention, 
                physical abuse, and imprisonment of individuals who are 
                exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of 
                religion, including the practices of Falun Gong, 
                freedom of expression, and freedom of association as 
                stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of 
                China; and
                    (E) demonstrate its willingness to abide by 
                international standards of freedom of belief, 
                expression, and association by ceasing to restrict 
                those freedoms in the People's Republic of China;
            (2) the President of the United States should, in 
        accordance with section 401(a)(1)(B) of the International 
        Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 USC 6401 et seq.), and with 
        the intention of dissuading the Chinese Government from 
        attempting to stifle religious freedom in the People's Republic 
        of China and the United States, take action such as--
                    (A) issuing an official public demarche, a formal 
                protest, to the Chinese Foreign Ministry in response to 
                the repeated violations by the Chinese Government of 
                basic human rights protected in international covenants 
                to which the People's Republic of China is a signatory; 
                and
                    (B) working more closely with Chinese human rights 
                activists to identify Chinese authorities who have been 
                personally responsible for acts of violence and 
                persecution in the People's Republic of China;
            (3) the Attorney General of the United States should 
        investigate reports that Chinese consular officials in the 
        United States have committed illegal acts while attempting to 
        intimidate or inappropriately influence Falun Gong 
        practitioners or local elected officials, and, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of State, determine an appropriate legal 
        response; and
            (4) officials of local governments in the United States 
        should--
                    (A) in accordance with local statutes and 
                procedures, recognize and support organizations and 
                individuals that share the goals of all or part of the 
                local community, including Falun Gong practitioners; 
                and
                    (B) report incidents of pressure or harassment by 
                agents of the People's Republic of China to Members of 
                Congress, the Attorney General of the United States, 
                and the United States Secretary of State.
                                 <all>
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