סנטור אמריקני: "על הכף עומדים ערכי היסוד של ארה"ב כולל חופש הביטוי, חופש דת..."

On America's 250th birthday, two U.S. lawmakers renewed calls to protect Falun Gong practitioners from persecution. Senator Todd Young urging his colleagues to ensure the Chinese Communist Party cannot intimidate people exercising their freedoms here in the United States. And today's Melina Weiskopf has more. As America celebrates 250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, lawmakers renew calls to combat human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party and its transnational repression on U.S. soil. Senator Todd Young said America was founded on the principle that every person is endowed with inherent dignity and the freedom to live according to their conscience. The senator said, at stake are core American values, including free speech, religious liberty, and the principle that no foreign authoritarian regime should be allowed to undermine our constitutional freedoms on American soil. He told Minghui.org, a Falun Gong website, that those values guide his work in the Senate. Young is a co-sponsor of the Falun Gong Protection Act, a bill meant to sanction Chinese Communist Party officials who engage in harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. The human rights atrocity has continued for over 25 years. Between 2001 and 2003, about 3,000 to 4,000 Falun Gong practitioners had died as a result of forced organ harvesting at a hospital she and her husband worked at in Suzhatun, according to estimates by some of the doctors involved. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation practice rooted in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Congressman Pat Ryan on July 4 told Minghui.org that he's proud to co-sponsor the Falun Gong Protection Act and stand with practitioners against CCP persecution today and every day. The combat veteran who risked his life to protect American values said, as we celebrate 250 years of this country, we also recommit to protecting the freedoms that our founding fathers envisioned. Senator Young urges his colleagues to continue to expose the persecution to ensure the CCP cannot intimidate people exercising their freedoms here in the United States. The Falun Gong Protection Act has passed the House, and a similar bill has advanced out of Senate committee, awaiting a final vote by the full body.