Falun Gong Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for allowing this bill to come to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to urge support of and for H.R. 1540, the Falun Gong Protection Act, a bill I have introduced to confront one of the most egregious, barbaric, and medieval human rights atrocities of our current time.

As we stand on the precipice of this vote, I ask you to join me in taking a stand against the Chinese Communist Party's systematic persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Since the early 1990s, the Falun Gong, a spiritual practice rooted in the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, has been targeted by the Chinese Communist Party. By 1999, Mr. Speaker, an estimated 70 million to 100 million people, roughly 5 to 7 percent of China's population, were practicing Falun Gong.

This popularity triggered a brutal response from the CCP, unleashing a campaign of illegal detentions, forced labor, torture, and most horrifically, forced organ harvesting, a practice that amounts to mass murder.

On July 20, 1999, the CCP detained hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and banned their practice outright. Since then, the persecution has only intensified.

Multiple studies, including the 2020 report from the Independent Tribunal Into Forced Organ Harvesting, have exposed an incomprehensible gap between the number of organ transplants performed in China and the number of registered donors.

Mr. Speaker, the math simply doesn't add up, and we all know why.

Just think about it: An independent tribunal into forced organ harvesting literally had to be set up to look into this because China is a closed society. Regardless of what people might think because we are allowed to travel to China, they are not showing you this part.

The CCP's secrecy ensures that China remains closed to scrutiny, but the evidence is clear: Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims of this barbaric organ harvesting system.

The tribunal's findings are staggering. They concluded that forced organ harvesting has been committed for years on a massive scale with Falun Gong practitioners as the main source.

The report states that the CCP and its leaders have actively incited the persecution, imprisonment, murder, torture, and humiliation of these individuals solely to eradicate their beliefs. This is not just a violation of human rights; it is a crime against humanity.

Now, far away in the United States, many in the organ transplant community are unaware of China's illicit practices, shielded by the CCP's repressive control of information and global propaganda, but the truth is undeniable: The Chinese Communist Party has built an infrastructure to persecute millions of not only Falun Gong practitioners but also Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians, and others it deems a threat.

The CCP's utter disregard for human life shocks the conscience. This barbaric practice must end, and it must end now.

H.R. 1540 is a historic step forward, the first binding commitment by Congress to take decisive legal action against the persecution and forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.

This bill imposes sanctions on those who would participate in or facilitate forced organ harvesting in China. It directs the Secretary of State to investigate whether the CCP's actions constitute crimes against humanity or genocide and to report on China's organ transplant policies. It also establishes U.S. policy to reject any cooperation with the PRC's illicit organ transplant industry while the CCP remains in power.

Mr. Speaker, this bill paves the way for accountability, sanctions, punishment, and acknowledgement of those complicit in these atrocities.

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Patronis). The time of the gentleman has expired.

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Mr. PERRY. The United States cannot continue to stand idly by. We must use our authority. We must use our position as leaders in the world to curb these practices and send a clear message to everybody that not only will we not tolerate this assault on human dignity, on humanity itself, but that no country, no people should.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a vote in favor of H.R. 1540. Let us stand together not just for Falun Gong practitioners but for the millions suffering under the CCP's oppression and tyranny. Let us affirm that the United States will always champion truth, compassion, and tolerance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair, again, for bringing the bill to the floor.

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