(Clearwisdom.net) According to the summer news brief published by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), at a hearing entitled, "Falun Gong and China's Continuing War on Human Rights" before the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, the DRL called on China to honor its international commitments and its own constitution in respecting religious freedom.

On July 22, 2000, a Falun Gong practitioners was brutally beaten by armed police (AFP photo)

The Department urged China to travel the path to human rights and political liberty at the hearing July 21. The DRL called for Falun Gong practitioners to be accorded their basic rights to freedom of belief, conscience and assembly.

The State Department continues to designate China as a "Country of Particular Concern" over its severe violations of religious freedom. In 2006, the DRL will place priority on funding capacity-building projects for NGOs, human rights awareness for rural residents, labor rights protection for migrant workers and training to strengthen public participation in governance.

The DRL will also continue to promote China's compliance with international labor standards.

The article stated that the calling of our country is to advance freedom, support the allies of liberty everywhere, and help others create the kind of society that protects the rights of the individual and thus promotes the common good. China is no exception to these goals.