United States: University Student Resolution Condemns the Persecution, Supports the Freedom of Belief of Falun Gong Practitioners and Calls for Release of Charles Lee

On November 11, 2003, the Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC, a student government) at UCLA passed a resolution to support the freedom of belief of Falun Gong practitioners. The resolution condemned the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China and abroad, and demanded that the persecution of Falun Gong in China and its extension to the United States be stopped, and that Dr. Charles Lee be released immediately and unconditionally.

Student Resolution to Support the Freedom of Belief of Falun Gong Practitioners

Whereas at numerous colleges and universities in California and across the United States, the student body includes Falun Gong practitioners, and student organizations include Falun Gong clubs:

Whereas Falun Gong is a peaceful cultivation practice deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, with 100 million practitioners in over 60 countries:

Whereas Falun Gong practitioners aspire to attain inner peace and physical health through qigong exercise, meditation, and adherence to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance:

Whereas in July 1999, former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin, in spite of much opposition from within the Chinese regime, officially banned the practice of Falun Gong and initiated a brutal campaign of brainwashing, torture, and murder, which continues today against innocent people for nothing other than their peaceful beliefs:

Whereas Falun Gong practitioners in China have suffered a horrific persecution in which tens of thousands of people have been tortured while confined in labor camps, prisons, and mental hospitals, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to attend brainwashing classes:

Whereas the number of verified deaths from torture has reached 813 as of November 12, 2003 with inside sources within the Chinese government indicating that the actual number is well into the thousands:

Whereas for the past four years there has been daily slander and defamation by the Chinese state-run media, which maintains a monopoly on Mainland China's newspapers, television, and radio, and has made it difficult for people both in China and overseas to obtain accurate information about Falun Gong:

Whereas Chinese delegates in the United States have been pressuring local elected officials to refuse or withdraw their support for Falun Gong, and have tried to intimidate local businesses and to force them to dishonor contracts they made with Falun Gong practitioners:

Whereas the Jiang Zemin regime, has been using the illicit means to harass, threaten, spy after, and physically assault Falun Gong practitioners in the United States, and whereas many of these cases having taken place in California:

Whereas Dr. Charles Lee, a United States citizen and Falun Gong practitioner from California, traveled to China to expose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and has reportedly been mentally and physically tortured since being detained by Chinese authorities on January 22, 2003.

We therefore condemn the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China and abroad, and demand that the persecution of Falun Gong in China and its extension to the United States be stopped, and that Dr. Charles Lee be released immediately and unconditionally.