MP Calls on China to Free Canadian Citizen and Others Imprisoned for Belief in Falun Gong

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis poses with Falun Gong practitioners on Parliament Hill on Nov. 19, 2024. Genuis and over a dozen other Tory MPs presented a petition in the House of Commons in October and November, calling on the Chinese Communist Party to end its persecution of followers of the spiritual practice. NTD

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis and over a dozen other MPs have urged China to release a Canadian citizen arbitrarily detained for seven years for practising Falun Gong, as well as other detainees with family ties in Canada.

On Nov. 19, Genuis presented a petition to the House of Commons calling for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end its suppression of Falun Gong practitioners. The CCP’s persecution campaign, which began in July 1999, has affected an estimated 70 million to 100 million Chinese citizens who were practising the spiritual discipline at the time.

Thirteen other Tory MPs recently presented the same petition in Parliament, calling for an end to the persecution campaign. The petition was presented over several days in October and November in accordance with the MPs’ availability.

While presenting the petition on Nov. 19, Genuis highlighted the detention of Canadian citizen and Vancouver resident Qian Sun. Sun was arrested at her home in Beijing in February 2017, and in June 2020 she was sentenced to eight years in prison for practising Falun Gong.

Advocacy groups like the Raoul Wallenberg Centre reported that Sun has been denied legal counsel and subjected to torture and inhumane conditions in detention.

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

Genuis mentioned two other cases on Nov. 19: Mingguang Xie, the father of Regina resident Xingxing Xie, was abducted from his home by Chinese police in February of this year and is now detained at the Lichuan Detention Center in Hubei Province. Xie had previously spent three years in prison in 2002, during which he was reportedly tortured.

Lizhong He, the brother of Toronto resident Lizhi He, was detained in July 2023 and sentenced to seven years in prison for sharing short videos about Falun Gong. He is being held in a prison in Gansu Province known for its violence toward Falun Gong prisoners of conscience, according to Minghui.org, a U.S.-based Falun Gong information website. His family has been denied visitation for over a year since his arrest and has no information about his health or safety.

Inhumane Measures

MPs who participated in presenting the petition include Cathay Wagantall, Larry Brock, Damien Kurek, Scott Reid, Jeremy Patzer, Brad Vis, Tako Van Popta, Marc Dalton, Dane Lloyd, Dan Albas, Dave Epp, Tom Kmiec, and Greg McLean. Collectively, they expressed concerns about the CCP’s practice of live organ harvesting, torture, forced labour, and other inhumane measures to suppress Falun Gong practitioners.

Like Genuis, each MP highlighted specific cases of detained Falun Gong practitioners with family members in Canada while presenting the petition.

Epp, who presented the petition on Nov. 7, noted that Canada was not alone in calling for an end to the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

“Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting has sponsored and been behind the petition of 1.5 million folks in 50 countries bringing this to the attention of their governments,” he said.

DAFOH, an international organization made up of medical professionals, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.

Conservative MPs Garnett Genuis, Tom Kmiec, Larry Brock, Jeremy Patzer, Brad Vis, Greg McLean, and Marc Dalton stand with Falun Gong practitioners, advocating for an end to the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of the spiritual practice, in Ottawa on Oct. 30, 2024. The Epoch Times

“These and other cases of Canadian citizens or people with close ties to Canada who face persecution in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] because they are Falun Gong practitioners need to be highlighted,” Genuis said. “I join colleagues in highlighting these specific cases, as well as calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in general.

“Petitioners want to see the House take strong, clear action opposing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and to explicitly continue to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.”

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is rooted in Buddhist traditions and involves meditative exercises and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

The CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners continues in China and has to some extent expanded overseas, including to Canada, according to a 143-page report from the Falun Dafa Association of Canada.