Group Urges Foreign Minister Joly to Ask for Release of Canadian Falun Gong Adherent, Others While in China

Falun Gong practitioners hold a rally to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong, in Vancouver on July 19, 2020. Da Yu/The Epoch Times

Falun Gong practitioners in Canada want Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to urge Beijing to end the “torture and killing” of the spiritual discipline’s adherents while she is in China. They are also asking her to request the release of those incarcerated for practicing Falun Gong, including 11 family members of Canadians and a Canadian citizen.

Ms. Joly’s visit to China on July 18—at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi—coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, which began on July 20, 1999, as highlighted by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC).

“It is extremely important and helpful for the free world to say ‘No’ to the CCP’s human rights violations. We urge you take this opportunity to call for the end of this 25-year continuing persecution during your trip,” FDAC national director Grace Wollensak wrote in a July 19 email statement addressing the minister.

The email, obtained by The Epoch Times, includes a list of 12 individuals arbitrarily detained by Chinese authorities for practicing Falun Gong, including Canadian citizen Qian Sun. Ms. Sun, who was sentenced to eight years, sees her seventh year in jail this year. She has reportedly suffered mental abuse and physical torture during her detention.

Sun Qian, a Falun Dafa adherent who has been illegally detained in China since February 2017, in an undated photo. The Epoch Times/Handout

Additionally, 11 Falun Gong prisoners of conscience who are family members of Canadians are also suffering in Chinese prisons, with sentences of up to 16 years.

Citing a study by human rights advocacy group Freedom House, the FDAC noted that millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed during these 25 years. In March 2020, an independent China Tribunal recognized the persecution of Falun Gong as crimes against humanity and genocide.

On June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed “The Falun Gong Protection Act,“ which seeks to address the CCP’s organ harvesting practices and impose sanctions on those involved. The legislation states, ”Credible evidence suggests that Falun Gong practitioners are subject to widespread forced organ harvesting and are specifically targeted for this barbaric practice.”

Additionally, the U.S. State Department highlighted rights abuses faced by Falun Gong practitioners perpetrated by the Chinese regime in its latest “Report on International Religious Freedom,” released on June 26.

Reports show that Falun Gong practitioners continue to face intimidation and harassment by the CCP even after leaving the country. The FDAC has updated its report, first published in October 2023, detailing how the regime’s foreign interference and transnational repression extend its persecution of Falun Gong beyond China’s borders.