Epoch Times: U.S. Should Deny Entry to Persecutors

Special to The Epoch Times

Mar 17, 2004

Friends of Falun Gong USA (FoFG), in cooperation with the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), has submitted a report containing a list of 102 Chinese officials believed to be responsible for or directly involved in carrying out systematic violations of religious freedom against people who practice Falun Gong in China. The list and its supporting documentation were submitted to relevant offices in both the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Justice.

Under Section 212(a)(2)(G) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, and Section 3 of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, anyone engaged in severe violations of religious freedom over the past 24 months can be excluded from entering the United States. Their spouses and children are also subject to exclusion.

With this submission, FoFG and WOIPFG request that the U.S. government deny entry to these officials, who hold positions at all levels of the Chinese Communist Party from the national to the municipal, and exclude them entirely from the United States.

For the past five years, China's regime has waged a war of suppression, persecution, and genocide not only against millions of good citizens interested solely in improving their health and well being, but also their families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and employers. New evidence is uncovered daily of extortion, abductions, beatings, rape, and other unconscionable acts of violence against innocent people regardless of age, gender, or physical condition.

The regime's systematic assault on Falun Gong and other oppressed groups such as Catholics, Tibetans, and Uighur Muslims, has aroused worldwide concern. Individuals, human rights groups, and governments have spoken out or initiated action to stop these transgressions of international law and policy. Here in the U.S., the House of Representatives unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 188 in July 2002, condemning the persecution of Falun Gong and calling for the fair treatment and release of all Falun Gong practitioners and prisoners of conscience. Most recently, the House passed H. Res. 530 by a near-unanimous vote. This legislation urges the Bush administration to sponsor a resolution rebuking China at the upcoming meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission.

Senator Chris Smith, who authored H. Res. 530, cited evidence from the U.S. State Department's recent human rights report to support the condemnation of China for its escalating repression of human rights. The State Department report documents China's continued "backsliding" on key human rights issues, and also details the continued persecution of Falun Gong, among others.

Action against those authorizing or participating in persecuting Falun Gong has already begun in the international community, as lawsuits are being filed by Falun Gong practitioners and their families in countries outside China. Several Chinese government officials were served while visiting the United States, and found guilty of the charges issued against them; namely, the Mayor of Beijing, the Deputy Provincial Governor of Liaoning Province, and the Head of Public Security for Hubei Province.

FoFG and WOIPFG urge the U.S. government to continue this momentum. There is strong likelihood that the Chinese officials listed in the submitted report may seek entry into the U.S. By excluding these persons involved in persecution, genocide, torture, and other egregious violations of fundamental human rights, the U.S. will send a strong message to China that participation in criminal activity of this magnitude has serious consequences -- regardless of rank or position.

Alan Adler is executive director of Friends of Falun Gong, a non-profit human rights organization established to advocate the freedom of belief of Falun Gong practitioners.

http://english.epochtimes.com/news/4-3-17/20364.html