London, UK: Officials Express Support for Falun Dafa at Symposium Held in Parliament

(Minghui.org) The British Falun Dafa Association organized a symposium themed, “The Falun Gong Story - Is There Another Genocide in China?” in the Parliament Building in London on July 17, 2023. This is a part of the events marking the 24th anniversary of practitioners’ protesting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution. The conference room was full, and several mainstream media sent reporters to cover the event.

A symposium was held in Parliament and officials speak in support of Falun Gong.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Marie Rimmer MP, and human rights lawyer David Matas from Canada were keynote speakers. 

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: Don’t Trust the CCP

Sir Iain Duncan Smith

Sir Iain Duncan Smith is the former leader of the British Conservative Party and the chairman of the International Parliamentary Alliance on China. In his speech, he said that the International Parliamentary Alliance on China included about 30 different countries around the world, from Japan to the United States. He said that it was David Matas who told him about the violent treatment of Falun Gong by the CCP. They then started to build the International Parliamentary Alliance. 

He said that as the CCP’s atrocities in Xinjiang were exposed and defined as genocide, more people understood the nature of the CCP, especially the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, “The news about Falun Gong gradually spread.”

He said that the British government should not have any trust in the CCP in formulating policies. “The CCP always breaks its word. It has no intention of keeping its word.”

Lord David Alton: This Is Not a Time for Silence

Lord David Alton of Liverpool

Lord Alton is the co-founder and Deputy Chair of the UK Parliamentary Cross-Party Group on Freedom of Religion and Belief. During the symposium he repeatedly mentioned the persecution of Falun Gong and the atrocities involving the CCP, especially the forced organ harvesting.

He said, “According to many legal and academic experts, the on-going, nationwide campaign in China to eradicate Falun Gong, a spiritual practice of what was once an estimated 70-100 million people, constitutes a modern-day genocide.” 

He pointed out, “The CCP is officially atheist and suppresses all religions, to varying degrees. Christians are only permitted censored versions of the Bible, religious leaders are often imprisoned and any permitted religious group is tightly monitored and controlled. But Jiang (former head of the CCP) recognised that Falun Gong could not be controlled – even Party officials had begun to practice. Jiang feared.” 

He concluded, “If we are to recognise the threat and interference from the CCP on our own democracy, it is imperative that we recognise the threat and atrocities happening to Falun Gong. We must say so – loud and clear – because it is. This is not a time for silence.” 

Lord Philip Hunt: We Must Send an International Signal

Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath

The amendment to the UK’s Medicines and Medical Devices Bill became law last year. This means that the organs of prisoners of conscience such as Falun Gong practitioners who are harvested alive cannot be brought into the UK. Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath, a member of the House of Lords, sponsored the amendment.

Lord Philip Hunt said that we must continue to look for opportunities to demonstrate that corporations, British companies, and the British people should not be involved in these activities and, secondly, hopefully other countries will follow in our footsteps and send an international signal. 

Lord Hunt said that “ambiguity” in Government policy towards China was an error and that Parliament’s strong stand against organ harvesting and the treatment of Falun Gong “must send a signal internationally. We owe it to the victims never to give up on this.”

Marie Rimmer MP: We Cannot Ignore the Issue

Marie Rimmer MP was also heavily involved in last year’s amendment to stop commercial organ tourism and is also working hard on the procurement bill.

Marie Rimmer MP

She said that we cannot turn a blind eye to what the CCP is doing. We have made progress and must move on. It’s about people’s right to have faith or not to have faith, about our brothers and sisters, we are all human.

David Matas: Motive in Determining Genocide Is the Key Consideration 

Canadian international human rights lawyer David Matas was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his outstanding contributions to human rights issues.

He gave a well-informed and thoughtful speech about the criteria in the Genocide Convention and said that the, “motive in determining Genocide is the key consideration – but mixed motives, such as “willful blindness” and the role of leaders can become contributory factors and should not be discounted.” He said he intended to publish a paper exploring the issue further.

Powerful and deeply moving personal testimonies of imprisonment, torture – including the use of tiger chairs and constant beatings over many days by the CCP- were given by two Falun Dafa practitioners. 

Chinese People Will Soon Be Free

While the symposium was held, practitioners held activities outside Parliament.

While the symposium was being held in the parliament building, Falun Dafa practitioners displayed long banners outside the building, and re-enacted scenes of the CCP’s torture of Falun Dafa practitioners in prisons to tell people about the activities taking place inside the building.

Emily said the persecution must stop. 

Emily works in a university. When she and her cousin visited London, they saw the banner “Stop the 24-year-long Persecution of Falun Gong.” She said, “Everyone should be treated equally. Why is the persecution still happening? I can’t believe it. Things like this must stop.”

She said that China is a big country. “Some privileged people profit from organ trafficking and use their power to try to cover up the truth. They oppress the common people and make some people afraid to speak out, causing the persecution to continue. But they (practitioners) stand up to raise awareness and make people realize the seriousness of the problem. I hope the British government and the U.S. government can exert pressure to help stop the persecution.”

She considered writing a letter to the MP in her city, and telling others about the issue, because this involves hundreds of families of the victims, and the persecution must end as soon as possible.

Sandra said there would be changes. 

Sandra who is a teacher said after signing the petition against live organ harvesting, “Don’t lose hope, there will be changes.”

Aaron Lubeck and his son

Construction worker Aaron Lubeck and his son are from the United States. They saw the Falun Gong booth in the distance. He said, “I very much support Falun Gong practitioners in raising the awareness.” His son said, “I signed the petition to support their righteous actions, so that more and more people will know the nature of the CCP. Then all countries in the world will stand together against the CCP’s persecution, and soon the Chinese will win their freedom.” He said he would help spread the word.

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 24 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.