U.N. Special Rapportuer on Religion Criticizes Chinese Regime

The recently appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief spoke out against the mistreatment of members of religions or belief systems. He showed the Chinese regime will not be ignored, in its persecution of Falun Gong in the past 11 years. The Chinese regime is a permanent member of the Security Council and a chronic abuser of religious freedom.

In his debut address to the United Nations General Assembly on October 21, Heiner Bielefeldt was quoted as saying „small communities such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baha’i, Ahmadi, Falun Gong and others are sometimes stigmatized as ‘cults’ and are frequently confronted with prejudices that can escalate into becoming conspiracy theories.“

A delegate from the Chinese regime refuted Bielefedlt’s statement, saying the Chinese state had identified Falun Gong as a (quote) “cult” and was correct in its efforts to suppress and, according to Reuters, “eradicate” the group.

Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that became hugely popular in China during the 1990’s. By 1999, state estimates put the number of practitioners between 70 to 100 million—a figure that outnumbers the members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. That same year the regime banned Falun Gong, labeling it an “evil cult” to justify persecuting the group.

The Falun Dafa Information Center is a rights group that monitors the persecution of Falun Gong. Its Executive Director, Levi Browde applauded Bielefeldt for criticizing the Chinese regime for branding the group a “cult.” Browde told The Epoch Times newspaper the regime, (quote) “threw out this label, and then proceeded to say it’s correct to ‘eradicate‘ Falun Gong, essentially reiterating the genocidal intent behind an 11-year-old, nationwide campaign that has involved the systematic abduction and torture of millions of innocent people.“

Since 1999, the Falun Dafa Information Center, has documented more than 3,400 cases of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of various forms of persecution. On average, a Falun Gong practitioner is tortured to death every three days.
The President of the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group, Shizhong Chen says Bielefeldt’s address is a warning for those involved in the persecution.

[Shizhong Chen, President of the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group]:

“The highest United Nations authority on religion and belief clearly stated that the Chinese Communist Party is partaking in religious persecution of Falun Gong. He drew the utmost attention to the issue in the strongest manner. This has pinned the CCP on the pillar of shame, and sends a strong warning to those involved in the persecution.”

The U.N. Special Rapporteurs have long expressed concerns over the Chinese regime’s persecution of Falun Gong. Beilefedlt’s singling out of the group, among a few others, during his 15-minute annual address to the General Assembly, sends a strong message of how significant he sees the issue.

Foto: NTDTV