The European Parliament has taken a strong stance against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, calling for an international investigation into the brutal suppression campaign against the faith group. The resolution, adopted on Jan. 18, highlights the CCP’s brutal campaign involving arbitrary detention, torture, psychological abuse, and forced organ harvesting to eradicate the belief system.
The resolution specifically mentions the case of tea farmer Ding Yuande, who was arrested from his plantation without a warrant and held for eight months with no family visits, before being sentenced to three years in December 2023. The resolution calls for the release of Mr. Ding and other Falun Gong adherents and outlines measures such as imposing sanctions against CCP perpetrators, criminal prosecution, and expulsion from EU territories.
The practice of Falun Gong was introduced in China in 1992 and became widely popular, with official estimates of 70 to 100 million practitioners by the late 1990s. The CCP’s 1999 campaign to eliminate the practice led to brutal persecution and forced organ harvesting of practitioners.
Slovak lawmaker Miriam Lexmann expressed her support for the resolution and highlighted the various forms of torture and deprivation endured by adherents.
The resolution has been shared with EU institutions, government bodies of member states, and authorities in Beijing. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed the EU’s “persistent and grave concerns” over the Chinese regime’s human rights violations and underscored the EU’s commitment to never compromise on human rights.
This resolution comes after a previous resolution condemning the CCP’s forced organ harvesting and a resolution on the CCP’s forced cultural assimilation of Tibetan children. The lawmakers called for stronger action from the EU to hold Beijing accountable.
Ding Lebin, the son of tea farmer Ding Yuande, thanked the parliamentary lawmakers for their efforts and highlighted the plight of millions of Falun Gong practitioners suffering from persecution in China. He emphasized that the regime’s existence poses a threat to freedom and democratic values. Mr. Gahler in a video statement said he believes shedding light on the persecution can have a deterrent effect, as communist regimes like the one in China are internally weak despite appearing strong. He said that is why they need to repress the people.