Speakers from human rights, religious and pro-democracy organizations also added their words of condemnation of the Chinese communist regime’s harsh policies towards Falun Gong practitioners, ethnic minorities, religious adherents, and democracy advocates.
Of special note in this year’s rally was the presence of Geng He, the wife of renowned lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, who on Feb. 4 was abducted and feared tortured and killed by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Security. Gao’s wife and two children only this year managed to escape from China and were awarded asylum in the U.S.
It was July 20, 1999 that “the CCP launched a campaign to eradicate Falun Gong,” said Gail Rachlin, from the Falun Dafa Information Center and the host for the event. “It was a conscious and deliberate decision by [former Communist leader] Jiang Zemin and taken up by the CCP propaganda,” said Ms. Rachlin.
The tone of the rally was set early on by the first speaker, Dr. Sue Vaughn from Freedom House, an organization that has been closely monitoring the status of democratic and human civil liberties in China for several years.
“Chinese citizens cannot democratically choose their leadership at any level of government…they cannot enjoy the most basic rights and civil liberties of a robust free society … cannot organize, protest or criticize their government. They cannot express their political opinion or freely practice the religion of their choice,” said Dr. Vaughn.
“The Chinese government in terms of pervasiveness and cruelty is the worst violator of human rights on the earth,” said Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. “…too many in the European community and the United States act as if it is not happening,” he said. “We need to remind President Obama that first and foremost [should be] human rights; trade and commerce issues come second.”
“The use of torture [by China] has been documented over and over again and by the United Nations.” Rep. Smith said he believed that the forced abortions and sterilizations in China to be the “greatest crime against women,” making it illegal to have brothers and sisters.
Congressman Smith called for a reexamination of our trade relations with China, saying, “all of that grinds to a halt unless you treat your citizens with respect.”
Other Congress Members, who managed to quickly break away from their voting responsibilities in the House that was ongoing during this rally, were Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Gus Bilirakis (FL), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO), Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL), Dana Rohrabacher (CA), and Sheila Jackson Lee (TX).
Representatives Scott Garrett (NJ), Thaddeus McCotter (MI) and Rush Holt (NJ) were scheduled to speak but did not make it.
Congressmen Cummings (MD), Engel (NY), Pascrell (NJ), and Perlmutter (Colorado) provided written statements as did Senator Mark Udall (Colorado).
Religious Concerns About China’s Persecution
Several of the speakers came from a religious background, and focused particularly on the religious aspect of the Falun Gong persecution in China, namely a peaceful non-violent people being brutally treated. They recognize that Falun Gong is an ancient, peaceful meditation and exercise practice.
Patricia Burkhardt, representing Church Women United, spoke of the persecution as a “vicious attack on people practicing a peaceful way of life.” She characterized the last decade of persecution as “one of the largest human tragedies that mankind has ever known.”
Reverend Patrick Mahoney, Christian Defense Coalition, said at the rally: “I stand in solidarity with every person who was ever brutalized.” Rev. Mahoney, with some of his faith, laid roses in Tiananmen Square just before the Olympics. He said it was no disgrace, but rather an honor, to be arrested and expelled from the country.
‘God Is On Our Side’
The Gao family—not just lawyer Gao—had suffered tremendously under their constant surveillance, interference, deprivation, and physical abuse by the CCP.
“I can speak out what is on my mind without any danger,” said Gao Zhisheng’s wife Geng He. Describing the persecution of Falun Gong, she said that when Gao learned the details about it, he was “shocked” and it “made his heart extremely heavy.”
Geng said she remembered the day Gao learned about the truth of the persecution. As he was reading through the materials, he had tears in his eyes the whole time which became red and swollen, she recalled.
“From that day on, he was determined to take the responsibility to seek justice for this group of people,” Geng said.
Gao risked his life to go to Shandong, Hebei, and Northeast China to investigate the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Geng said that Gao realized that it was not only the Falun Gong practitioners who were brought much pain, but that the continued policy of the persecution of Falun Gong has affected the nation. It made people “lose their humanity, lose their morality, brought a feeling of shame and guilt, and affected the most fundamental values.” “This is a terrible thing and the most unfortunate thing for the nation,” said Geng. She said she was also speaking for Gao.
Geng closed with words from Gao:
“Gao has said: ‘to end this nation’s sufferings, we must have people with high morals; Falun Gong practitioners have done it, we must do our part.’ Not to mention that there is God, whose Will cannot be resisted.”
Three Words
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida said “three words” as he pointed with his index finger to one of many demonstration signs held by practitioners that displayed “truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.”
Diaz-Balart said, “These are the fundamental beliefs in Falun Gong,” Diaz-Balart contrasted the Chinese leaders who rule by “brute force” with the “peaceful followers of Falun Gong, peaceful religious, and democratic activists.”
“Where we see the brutality—it is an embarrassment to mankind,” a phrase he invoked several times. He deplored the way democratic countries regard China “as if it were a moral, peaceful, law abiding” country and was even awarded the Olympics—the symbol of peace—“this is an embarrassment to mankind.” “It is a regime of thugs, by thugs, for thugs”
Congresswoman Warns Chinese Diplomats in the U.S.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) noted that the CCP police state tactics were on the same order as the Gestapo and the KGB. She said they even send Falun Gong practitioners to mental institutions just like they did to dissidents in the former Soviet Union.
The Congresswoman also noted a meeting she had with a man who had been “beaten up by Chinese thugs” in the U.S.
Ros-Lehtinen had a warning for the Chinese embassy and consulates in the U.S.:
“Any Chinese diplomat who engages in the coordination of an assault on an American citizen inside this country should be declared ‘persona non-grata’ by the State Department and sent out of the United States.”
