Chairs’ Statement on 20th Anniversary of the Crackdown on Falun Gong

For the past twenty years, Falun Gong practitioners have experienced appalling and unacceptable human rights abuses in China.  Banned by the Chinese government in July 1999, many Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, forced labor, and constant harassment. On this sad anniversary, the Chinese government should end the persecution of Falun Gong and allow an independent and transparent U.N. investigation into the human rights abuses suffered by Falun Gong over the past two decades.  We also urge the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Deng Cuiping, Zuo Hongtao, and numerous other Falun Gong practitioners, and respect the freedom of all Falun Gong practitioners to hold their beliefs and their right to practice in accordance with those beliefs as guaranteed under international human rights standards and China’s own constitution.

Background: The CECC's Political Prisoner Database has case information on detained Falun Gong practitioners and other political and religious prisoners.