HR1179 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1179 LRB094 20212 AJO 58068 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Falun Gong is a peaceful and nonviolent form of personal belief with millions of adherents in China and elsewhere; and

WHEREAS, Falun Gong has been persecuted for over 6 years by the Chinese Communist Party, as documented by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and many other governmental and third party organizations; and

WHEREAS, This persecution of the Falun Gong has involved the widespread use of torture; and

WHEREAS, The Chinese Communist authority is persecuting Falun Gong practitioners with this policy: "Defame their reputation, bankrupt them financially, destroy them physically"; and

WHEREAS, Over 2,800 Falun Gong practitioners have died from documented abuse, and some of their bodies were missing internal organs; and

WHEREAS, In Sujiatun, a suburb of the Chinese city of Shenyang, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are held in a prison camp contrary to the laws of China and in violation of their human rights; and

WHEREAS, Shenyang is a sister city of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, The Sujiatun prison camp is adjacent to a complex that contains 3 hospitals; and

WHEREAS, In the prison at Sujiatun the organs of Falun Gong adherents are harvested while they are alive, and their bodies are immediately cremated; and

WHEREAS, The harvested organs are then used by the hospitals associated with the prison for transplants, with the customers for these transplants often being individuals from the United States; and

WHEREAS, A witness, who worked at one of these hospitals and whose ex-husband, a surgeon, helped perform the organ harvesting, estimates that 4,000 Falun Gong practitioners have died in the past 5 years through this organ harvesting; and

WHEREAS, Falun Gong practitioner Yunhe Zhang, the sister of Chicago resident Michelle Zhang, has been missing since she was abducted by Chinese security forces more than 4 years ago; and

WHEREAS, Chinese President Hu Jintao will make an official visit to the United States in April 2006; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the Chinese Communist Party to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States government to investigate organ transplants in China and take all reasonable steps to bring an end to the revolting practice of harvesting organs from living prisoners for transplants; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge President George W. Bush to discuss the Sujiatun prison situation with Chinese President Hu Jintao when they meet in April at the White House; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recommend the City of Chicago end its sister city relationship with the City of Shenyang, as an expression of censure for the atrocities performed at Sujiatun; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the United States government to prohibit any doctors who performed transplants using organs harvested from living prisoners, such as those at Sujiatun prison, from gaining entry into the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to the Falun Gong practitioners of Illinois and that a copy of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush.