(Clearwisdom.net) On July 19, 2007, Falun Gong practitioners from Europe, the United States, Asia and other areas around the world held a rally in front of Capitol Hill in the United States. They called for the disintegration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an end to the persecution. Several US Congress members, officials from non-governmental organizations, human rights lawyers and victims of the persecution made speeches. They urged the CCP to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong that has persisted for eight years.
US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California, a prominent spokesman for human rights around the world, attended the June 19th rally and gave a speech. As a senior member of the International Relations Committee, Congressman Rohrabacher pointed out that we should not participate in the Olympics hosted in a country that is run by a government that represses its own people. "We will not permit our people to participate in that if they will not permit the people of China to worship God, and to seek their own spiritual levels free from government oppression."
The following is Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's statement at the rally held by Washington Falun Gong practitioners.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I appreciate the fact that each and every one of you is standing in this heat, or is sitting in this heat, in order to speak out and try to capture the attention of the American people, and to touch their souls. We will not change the world until we can touch the hearts of people in the United States, and touch the hearts of those gangsters who are now running the government on the mainland of China. They don't need to be gangsters, they can be decent human beings if we reach out to them and let them know, but we must speak out forcefully if we are going to achieve that goal. We must step forward as you are today, if we are to get the attention and commitment of the American people.
I'm very proud to say that I represent Huntington Beach, California, and I'm very proud that in our Fourth of July parade, the day when we celebrate what is the essence of America, there was a large contingent in our parade of the Falun Gong who are representing the true battle for freedom today on this planet, and they were a part of our Fourth of July parade (applause). Other cities, as you know, have succumbed to pressure from the dictators from the regime that controls the mainland of China not to permit the Falun Gong to speak out, and to participate in things like Fourth of July parades. That shows you the insidiousness of the people in the United States, what will happen to us if we ignore an evil that's going on, on the other side of the world.
We tried to ignore the Taliban, and it came back to hurt us on 9/11. If we continue to ignore the repression, and just do business as usual with China, we will feel the sting of that immorality in the years to come. The American people will suffer, so it is in our interest to do what is the moral thing, which is to stand with you, and all people who are struggling for freedom on the mainland of China.
That being so, let me say this, we can start by being realistic, and not just using phraseology and words. You've heard a lot of people talk about standing with you today. It's about time we do something real, that perhaps the government can understand in Beijing. This isn't just words, because a lot of times we have an arrogance, getting up giving wonderful speeches in front of the capitol, but the only actions that the government in China sees, is billions of dollars worth of business being done by Americans, who are making a profit off the current regime in China.
So what shall we do to make it real? Let me just say, that I will be supporting legislation, if not authoring legislation, that will put people on the line to see just exactly if they do believe in what they are saying. Because we should not, as a country, be sending a team to the Olympics in a country that is run by a government that represses its own people. We should demand, that before we send any of our Olympic athletes to China, that the Chinese government publicly give up its position that it has a right to suppress the freedom of religion of their own people. At the very least, let us say, "We will not compete on the fields, of the Olympic fields, which represent a greater aspect of human, of the human soul, that we will not permit our people to participate in that if they will not permit the people of China to worship God, and to seek their own spiritual levels free from government oppression." That is the demand that we should make (applause).
There is a problem that seems to be surfacing, and it's a something that finally is catching the attention of the American people, and that is that much of the food that is coming from China, not only food, but other things, like toothpaste, contain poisons. I would suggest this, that we will not be able to stop the poisons that are flowing from China into our society in terms of goods until we end the poison of tyranny that oppresses the people of China (applause.) We need to do more, than simply stop tubes of toothpaste that have poison in them, we need to make sure that that poison, the source of that poison, which is the dictatorship, and the corruption, that exists in Beijing that represses the people of China, and their ability to step forward in a moral way and be part of a coalition of decent people in this world; the only thing that stands in their way, is this repressive and corrupt dictatorship.
End that dictatorship, and we will end the poison that comes from China. We will then become part of a community that cares about one another, instead of a community that's run on one side by vicious dictators and corrupt leaders, and on another side by businessmen who don't mind if they make billions of dollars off blood money dealing with dictators. We need to speak up as a coalition of people, between the coalition of the people of the United States, and the people of China. This is the greatest alliance for the long-term peace of the world that I can possibly imagine. That's what will bring peace to the world, when we manage to get around, or at least, and even eliminate this bond between American business, and these gangsters who run China. That is up to us, we must do that. And I am proud to be with you today, and thank you, all of you, for doing your part and we'll try to do ours. God bless you, thank you (applause).
