(Clearwisdom.net) Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter [R-MI11] and seven other representatives in the House of Representatives co-sponsored and submitted H. Res. 416 to the House for consideration on September 23, 2011. The resolution condemns China's discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of its prisoners of conscience, and supports the Tuidang [Quitting-the-CCP] movement whereby Chinese citizens renounce their ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Other than Mr. McCotter, there are seven other representatives, including Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA46], Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA3], Gus Bilirakis [R-FL9], Walter Jones [R-NC3], James Sensenbrenner [R-WI5], Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL21], Sue Myrick [R-NC9].
The resolution has been submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives.
Resolution 416 points out that “all religious groups in Communist China who are not registered with one of the 5 government-approved religious associations face some kind of repression by the government; on October 30, 1999, China’s National People’s Congress promulgated an ‘anti-cult’ law to suppress religious freedom and political dissent across the country;”
The resolution states: “since 1999, more than 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners have reportedly served time in prison, with more than 100,000 practitioners being sent to re-education-through-labor camps; according to the USCRIF, during the last several years there have been allegations of government-sanctioned organ harvesting from incarcerated practitioners;”
“Communist China continues to operate a vast network of forced labor or re-education-through-labor camps (Laogai) where at least 250,000 people are currently imprisoned, many of these individuals are religious minorities and Falun Gong practitioners;”
The resolution also mentions that “on September 22, 2007, Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was secretly taken from his home after sending an open letter to the United States Congress recounting Communist China’s elimination of over 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners; Gao Zhisheng was repeatedly tortured and abused while in custody and has been missing since April 2010.”
The resolution points out, “in November 2004, the publication of ‘Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party’ by the United States-based newspaper the Epoch Times led to the creation of the Tuidang movement; the Tuidang movement, which means ‘withdraw from the communist party,’ has encouraged as many as 100,000,000 people to publicly renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliates;”
The resolution states, “Whereas it is in the national interest for the United States Government to actively promote religious freedom and democracy in Communist China: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns Communist China’s discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of its prisoners of conscience;
(2) calls upon Communist China to immediately--
(A) cease harassment and discrimination against all unregistered religious organizations and individual practitioners; and
(B) release its prisoners of conscience;
(3) calls upon Communist China to publicly release information about--
(A) the number of prisoners of conscience presently detained in Communist China (including Communist China’s Laogai prison camp system);
(B) the number of prisoners of conscience executed or tortured in Communist China (including Communist China’s Laogai prison camp system); and
(C) the extent of Communist China’s organ harvesting among its prisoners of conscience;
(4) expresses sympathy and condolences to the families of prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by the Communist Chinese government;
(5) calls upon Communist China to allow the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom or international humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to current and former prisoners of conscience held in Communist China’s jails, prison, administrative detention centers, and Laogai prison camp system;
(6) urges the Administration to raise the issue of Communist China’s prisoners of conscience in high-level diplomatic meetings with Communist Chinese officials; and
(7) expresses support for the Tuidang movement and its members for their peaceful efforts in pursuit of religious freedom and a free and democratic government in China.
Below is a link to the full text of H. Res. 416: