Human Rights

Walking down a street, one hears a foreigner gush about how wonderful America is and how grateful he is for his new found freedoms. The average, under-zealous American would chuckle to himself, maybe even criticize his so-called rights. Whether one agrees, American citizens are very fortunate compared to other parts of the world where the thought of freedom is just a mere dream versus the American reality. Recently, Ms. Taylor & Ms. Chen, two former Chinese citizens, visited the class to educate us on the horrors of the Chinese Communist Party & how the party uses its power to mistreat certain groups and strip citizens of natural rights. Our main discussion was centered around a spiritual practice, Falun Gong, which was banned in China on July 20, 1999.

Falun Gong is Chinese for "the great law wheel way of cultivation practice". This practice is based upon three principles: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Along with these principles, followers read a book written by Li Hongzhi and follow five different sets of relaxing & energizing exercises. Falun Gong was not made public until the year 1992, and, by word-of-mouth, rapidly gained popularity throughout China reaching a number of nearly 100 million followers. China's central government, which banned the free practice of religion in the 1950s, felt threatened by the the spiritual group and began a national crackdown. Followers are forbidden to practice, those who fail to stop practicing are often times arrested and beaten despite their peaceful appeals. There have even been horror stories about Falun Gong followers being tortured, sent to labor camps, and even being used for organ harvesting. Since the Chinese Communist Party controls China's media, citizens have been misinformed & even unaware of what is occurring within their borders. Stories have been fabricated in which Falun Gong is accused of being some sort of political cult out to destroy the Chinese government.

In the United States Bill of Rights, under the first amendment, it states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". These very words explain why many Falun Gong members being persecuted by the Chinese government have fled China & started a new life in America. It is here that no matter race, gender, physical characteristics, one is guaranteed thousands of freedoms and rights that allow a human to live peacefully and without fear. Too often, Americans take these simple, yet so powerful freedoms for granted. If we were to live in China for a week, Ms. Chen told us that we would see great, futuristic technology, but realize that the mindset of the government is still in the "dark ages" when it comes to the treatment of humans. Although it is not in our power to tell China how to treat its citizens, we can and we should welcome all foreigners with open arms along with the promise of equal and fair treatment.

http://falundafa.org/ - Learn more about Falun Gong
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/ - Chinese Communist Party view on Falun Gong