(Minghui.org) Sam Brownback, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, made a statement on Twitter on July 29, 2019: “July 20th marked 20 long years since the Falun Gong was banned in China. Practitioners today still face persecution at the hands of the Chinese government, including arrests, torture & the forced renunciation of their faith. The Chinese Communist Party’s actions are unacceptable.”

Sam Brownback has been the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom since February 2018.

Since becoming Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom in February 2018, Brownback has addressed human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners in China on numerous occasions.

At the Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong on March 8, 2019, he criticized the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and its state-sanctioned organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. “Chinese government oppression extends to the Falun Gong, whose abuse has been well documented,” he remarked. “Allegations persist that the Chinese government continues to forcibly harvest organs from prisoners held on account of their faith, including Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs.”

He said the U.S. government would continue to urge the Chinese government to end abuse and mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners. “This has lasted for more than twenty years and must stop. Also, they must address the whereabouts of missing practitioners,” he continued.

As the U.S. Department of State released its 2018 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom on June 21, 2019, the report listed China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Brownback said China had declared war on faith. “We’ve seen increasing Chinese Government abuse of believers of nearly all faiths and from all parts of the mainland,” he explained.

He specifically mentioned the CCP's state-sanctioned organ harvesting from living prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uighurs, Tibetan Buddhists, and underground Christians.

He alerted the public that the atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese state should shock everyone’s conscience.

To the Chinese communist regime, he said, “Do not be mistaken, you will not win your war on faith. This will have consequences on your standing at home and around the world.”