PureInsight | June 8, 2016
[PureInsight.org] USCIRF released an annual report on May 2, 2016, which indicates that China’s severe religious freedom violations continued in 2015. The Chinese government continued its violent crackdown on Falun Gong, human rights lawyers, Uighur, Tibetan Buddhists, and other groups. As a reliable report shows, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. USCIRF again recommends in 2016 that China be designated a “country of particular concern,” or CPC. The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999, most recently in July 2014.
The 2016 Annual Report covers the period from February 1, 2015 to February 29, 2016 although in some cases significant events that occurred after the reporting period are mentioned. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan U.S. government advisory body, including eight members appointed by the President, the United States Senate, and House leaders. The main function of the committee is to monitor the status of religious freedom in each country and give suggestions to the US President, the US State Department, and the US Congress.
The CCP’s Severe Religious Freedom Violations Continued
China’s severe religious freedom violations continued in 2015. The central and/or provincial governments continued to forcibly remove crosses and bulldoze churches; implement discriminatory and occasionally violent crackdowns on Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists and their rights; and harass, imprison, or otherwise detain Falun Gong practitioners, human rights defenders, and others. Based on the continuation of this long-standing trend of religious freedom violation, USCIRF again recommends in 2016 that China be designated a “country of particular concern,” or CPC.
Reliable Report Proved Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners
The report mentioned that Falun Gong practitioners are normally detained in Black Jail and brainwashing centers. The report also proved Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted with sexual abuse, psychopathy tests, and organ harvesting.
In 2015, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were reportedly arrested or sent to brainwashing centers or other detention facilities. Brainwashing centers are a form of extralegal detention known to involve acts of torture.
Based on statements from Chinese health officials, the long-standing practice of harvesting organs from prisoners was to end on January 1, 2015. However, many human rights advocates believe the practice continues. Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners are particularly targeted for organ harvesting.
Focus on the Situation of Previous Practitioners in the Falun Dafa Association who were Involved in the Ten Thousand Person Peaceful Appeal on April 25
Li Chang, a former government official sentenced to prison for his involvement in a peaceful Falun Gong demonstration, is among the countless Falun Gong practitioners who remain imprisoned at the end of the reporting period.
The Chinese government continued to deny Wang Zhiwen a passport or the ability to travel freely to receive proper medical care following the torture he endured during his 15 years in prison.
(Editor's Note: Li Chang and Wang Zhiwen were the volunteer contacts of the former Beijing Falun Dafa Association. On April 25, 1999, they talked with the government at Zhongnanhai on behalf of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners.)
Intensive Suppression of Human Rights Lawyers
The report mentioned that in 2015, the CCP intensively suppressed human rights lawyers and dissidents. Some of them advocated for religious freedom or accepted the cases in different religious. In July, authorities across China employed a sweeping dragnet to round up lawyers and human rights defenders, including religious freedom advocates. Nearly 300 were arrested, detained, or disappeared. Many of these individuals came under government suspicion precisely because they chose to represent politically undesirable religious groups, such as Uighur Muslims, unregistered Christian leaders and members, and Falun Gong practitioners.
While most were released, the locations of a few individuals remain unknown, and additional detentions and arrests continue. Among those criminally detained or facing charges of subversion or endangering state security are Wang Yu, Li Heping, and Zhang Kai, human rights lawyers known for defending Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, and others.
Miss World Canada is Denied Entry into China
Chinese authorities denied Anastasia Lin, a human rights advocate and Falun Gong practitioner, a visa and barred her entry into Mainland China. As Miss World Canada 2015, Ms. Lin was scheduled to participate in the Miss World event held in China in December 2015.
Translated from: http://news.zhengjian.org/node/31805
