Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
A Volunteer Human Rights Coalition – Choose Love, Not Hate – Love Wins
Genevieve Long: “What the Media Doesnt Say About Falun Gong”
— “11 Years ago, on July 20, 1999, a persecution against a meditation practice called Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) officially started in Mainland China. The persecution of Falun Gong was the brainchild of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who saw Falun Gong’s enormous popularity among 100 million Chinese and simply wanted to crush it.”
— See the rest of the report
Communist China renews Google license amid censorship row
— AP: “Google said Friday that Chinese officials had approved its Internet content provider, or ICP, license but gave no details of what services it would offer.”
— Washington Post: “Google wimped out”
Communist China’s Information Office of the State Council continues to defend censorship of the Internet, justifying it as “protection,” where the “Chinese government plays the leading role in Internet administration.”
In the latest report by that government, it states that the Communist Chinese laws prohibit dissemination of “contents subverting state power, undermining national unity, infringing upon national honor and interests, inciting ethnic hatred and secession”
It also indicates that government control of the Internet is also an “indispensable requirement for protecting state security and the public interest,” and indicates that its policies for “secure information flow” require that “no organization or individual” is allowed to spread information “subverting state power and jeopardizing national unification; damaging state honor and interests…”
The Communist Chinese government also requires Internet providers to ensure “Internet security management systems and utilize technical measures to prevent the transmission of all types of illegal information.”
As to international concern over the Communist Chinese government’s Internet censorship, it states that “Concerns about Internet security of different countries should be fully respected. We should seek common ground and reserve differences, promote development through exchanges, and jointly protect international Internet security.”
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights of equality and liberty for all people, including our rights to freedom of expression. We urge those who seek to deny such universal human rights to understand that when they deny such rights for some people, they attack such unqualified universal human rights for all people.
— R.E.A.L. reports on Totalitarianism
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Related Media Reports:
AP: China says will keep blocking online content
Voice of America: China Defends Internet Censorship Practices
Reuters: China vows no let-up to state control of Internet
BBC: China defends internet censorship
AFP: China defends Internet ‘Great Firewall’
Bloomberg: China Spells Out Internet Restrictions After Google’s Exit
V3.co.uk: China defends internet censorship
Freedom House has announced its list of the “worst of the worst” human right violators in a report issued on June 3, 2010, which include three nations that are members of the U.N. Human Rights Council Saudi Arabia, Libya, Communist China, and Cuba). The Freedom House list includes 9 Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) nations (Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Guinea, and Syria), 5 Communist nations (North Korea, Communist China, Cuba, Laos, and the territory of Tibet under Communist Chinese jurisidiction), Burmese/Myanmar, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Belarus.
The Freedom House Press Release states that:
“Nine countries and one territory are judged to have the worst human rights conditions, receiving the lowest possible score of 7 (based on a 1 to 7 scale, with 1 representing the most free and 7 representing the least free) on both political rights and civil liberties: Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tibet.”
“An additional 8 countries and 2 territories score only slightly better, with a score of 7 in political rights and a score of 6 in the civil liberties category: Belarus, Chad, China, Cuba, Guinea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.”
“The event included a release of the results by Freedom House director of advocacy, Paula Schriefer and remarks by Mr. Mamadi Kaba, President of RADDHO-Guinea, a leading Guinean human rights organization. Mr. Kaba is part of a delegation from Africa, sponsored by Freedom House, which is attending the Human Rights Council session to lobby for greater human rights in Africa. Of the 20 countries identified in the report, 6 are from Sub-Saharan Africa, including Guinea.”
“‘While it is shameful that three of the ‘Worst of the Worst’ regimes now actually sit on the Council (China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia) and a fourth (Libya) was just elected, we nonetheless call on the member states of the Council to fulfill their mandate and take actions to address the systemic abuses in these countries,’ continued Schriefer.”
“Since the Council was first established in 2006 to replace the widely discredited UN Commission on Human Rights, only a handful of ‘Worst of the Worst’ states — Burma, Guinea, Somalia, Sudan and North Korea — have been the focus of resolutions or special sessions by the UN body.”
— Press Release: Freedom House Reveals the World’s Worst Human Rights Abusers
— Full Report: Freedom in the World 2010 – Worst of the Worst
— Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Members
— R.E.A.L. Reports on Communist Totalitarianism
— R.E.A.L. Reports on Communist China
— R.E.A.L. Reports on North Korea
— R.E.A.L. Reports on Radical Extremism
— Wikipedia Report on Hu Jintao
— Wikipedia Report on Than Shwe
— Wikipedia Report on Omar Al-Bashir
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Eleventh Annual Report on Religious Freedom in the World Released
— recommending “13 nations–Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam–be named ‘countries of particular concern,’ or CPCs.”
— Watch List Nations: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russian Federation, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Venezuela
— USCIRF concerned about religious based violence and breakdown in justice – known as impunity
— “USCIRF has seen the effects of impunity firsthand—particularly on vulnerable minority religious groups—during fact-finding trips to Egypt, Nigeria, and Sudan. USCIRF also has monitored the state’s failure to punish private, religiously-motivated violence in Afghanistan, Eritrea, India, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan.”
— Press Release
Pakistan, 12 others named violators of religious freedom
Egypt: US religious freedoms report finds support among local activists
Nigeria among worst violators of freedom
In American foreign policy, why religious freedom matters
Religious persecution is widespread, report warns
Religious Freedom Group Sees Rise In Persecution
As security barricades are erected around parts of Washington and streets near the DC Convention Center are closed down protesters for freedom in China continue to raise their voice to Communist China leader Hu Jintao, who is attending a nuclear summit there.
The Washington Post reports:
— In fact, the morning’s heaviest traffic might have been the well before dawn when the thousands of police, federal agents and uniformed military personnel arrived to man the barricades. Scores of them stared across 11th Street at a dozen supporters of Falun Gong, a spiritual sect banned in China, who stood behind barricades holding banners in Chinese.”
DC protests also reported by AFP:
— “More than 100 Tibetans chanted angry slogans in a square and a park on the edge of Washington’s Chinatown, both a stone’s throw from the Washington Convention Center where President Barack Obama is hosting the leaders from 46 nations, including China’s President Hu Jintao.”
Earlier AFP report also stated:
— “In two corners of the park, Falun Gong practitioners went through the gentle motions of their meditative art, which has gained a following of 100 million in China.”
— “‘The Chinese government persecutes anything that is outside its control. If they feel threatened, they go after you, and with more than 100 million people practicing Falun Gong, they’ve become paranoid and have been doing things to practitioners, like harvesting their organs when they are still alive,’ said Dr Wenyi Wang.”
— “‘The international community has to realize that everyone has a responsibility to stop the persecution of the Falun Gong by the Chinese,’ she said.”
— “‘But a lot of people, especially in the United States and Europe, only engage China economically and turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses,’ Wang said, adding that even the Chinese have an expression that says ‘what goes around, comes around.'”
— “Lisa Tao told AFP in heavily accented English that she had come to join the protesters because ‘thousands of Falun Gong have been tortured to death and we want to send a message to Hu Jintao to stop persecuting people.”
— “‘We don’t know if he will change but we have to keep up the pressure. So we keep protesting, wherever he goes,’ she said.”
FOX News also reports on
— Quiet Protests at Nuclear Security Summit
— “Spiritual group Falun Gong, outlawed in China, protests Chinese crackdowns on the group while outside the Nuclear Security Summit. ”
On Sunday, April 11, 2010, in Washington DC’s Freedom Plaza (named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’ s struggle for human freedom in America), an estimated 150 Chinese Americans and their supporters rallied to show their solidarity and support for those Chinese citizens who have left the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a stand for freedom in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Activists held large banners in English and in Chinese languages with messages such as “Support 71 Million People Resigning from Chinese Communist Party,” “Nine Commentaries Motivated 71 Million Chines to Resign from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party,” “U.S. House Passes Resolution 605: Supports Falun Gong, Condemns Prosecution,” and “Help Stop the Persecution Against Falun Gong,” and other had smaller placards and signs with messages calling for freedom in the PRC.
The event coincided with the arrival of PRC leader Hu Jiantao to the United States of America for a nuclear security summit, beginning on April 12, 2010, which was also protested by China freedom activists, Falun Gong activists, and the Tibetan activists (see separate reports).
At the April 11, 2010 Freedom Plaza rally, China freedom supporters, Falun Gong practitioners, and other freedom activists joined in solidarity to applaud the efforts of the Taidung (“Quit the Party”) movement in leading the way for 71 million Chinese citizens who have voluntarily left the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (see earlier report on the Taidung movement). China freedom activists sang songs on the Taidung movement, the oppression of the Falun Gong, and also provided traditional Chinese dance and drum routines at the Freedom Plaza rally.
Among those speaking at the Freedom Plaza rally was a former official of the CCP, who renounced the CCP upon coming to the United States of America. In addition to China freedom activists and Falun Gong supporters, freedom activists in Asia from Vietnam, Laos, Tibet, and Japan also spoke at the Freedom Plaza rally for freedom in China and supporting those who left the CCP. Multiple speakers remarked on the March 16, 2010 passing of House Resolution 605, which acknowledges the oppression and suffering of the Falun Gong in Communist China and advises the U.S. President to meet with Falun Gong leaders.
China freedom activist and leader of the China Support Network John Kusumi called upon U.S. President Barack Obama to make freedom in the PRC a priority as part of American foreign policy objectives on issues such trade, currency, and security. John Kusumi also urges the world community to take a stand on the Communist Laogai forced labor camps. John Kusumi also manages the China Support Network blog on China human rights and freedom issues.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)‘s Jeffrey Imm recognized that the Freedom Plaza rally was taking place on Holocaust Remembrance Day, and that while much of the world was saying “never again” to the history of the Holocaust, “never again is now” in the PRC for those suffering in Communist Laogai forced labor camps, for men, women and children in China that seek to live in freedom, and for the Chinese people whose culture has been systematically been undermined and destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party. Jeffrey Imm noted that near the Freedom Plaza where the event was being held, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked on his historic speech “I Have a Dream.” Jeffrey Imm stated that “I have a dream that all of the Chinese people will someday be free… but we all have a responsibility to make that dream a reality.” Jeffrey Imm noted that those struggling for freedom in the PRC must use their passion to educate the world on the abuses against the Chinese people, with a single message to the world “Free China Now,” which Imm and the other participants chanted together “Free China Now!”
The event was covered by Asian media sources as well as the AFP News. An earlier AFP News report included photographs of the April 11, 2010 Freedom Plaza rally in their subsequent report on the Tibetan and Falun Gong protesters outside of the DC Convention Center where Hu Jinato was meeting with other world leaders. The updated AFP News report only showed photos of the April 12 protest.
See also:
April 12, 2010: DC: Tibet and Falun Gong Activists Protest Outside Nuclear Summit for China Freedom
Washington DC: Chinese Rally on April 11 to Support 71 Million Leaving Chinese Communist Party
Additional Photographs of April 11, 2010 Event:
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April 11, 2009 – Tuidang Rally, “Freedom Plaza,” Washington DC, USA – Jeffrey Imm
Good afternoon. My name is Jeffrey Imm, and our group’s name is Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.).
I appreciate all of you here today fighting for freedom.
We share your fight for freedom around the world.
Today is “Holocaust Remembrance Day.” Around the world, people say “Never Again.”
But “Never Again” is not just history. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), “Never Again” is now.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, people talk about concentration camps.
But that’s not just history, in the PRC that’s now.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, people talk about cultures being destroyed.
But in the PRC, “Never Again” is now.
So when we stand in solidarity with those that remember the Holocaust today, we say to them that in the PRC, “Never Again” is now.
Compassion is passion. We share your passion for freedom.
This is “Freedom Plaza.” It was named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Near here, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked on a speech called “I Have a Dream.”
I have a dream – that the people in China will be free.
I have a dream – that the Tuidang – will be remembered as heroes.
I have a dream – that the 71 million who have left the Chinese Communist Party – are just the start of waves of freedom – that will Free China Now!
Share with me: Free China Now, Free China Now, Free China Now! (crowd chants in unison).
We have a dream, but we also have a responsibility.
President Obama, you have a responsibility, under House Resolution 605, to meet with the people fighting for freedom and the Falun Gong.
President Obama, you have a responsibility, to have a foreign policy where human rights are our first priority, not our last.
(Holding up poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
These represent the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were signed by the Republic of China on December 10, 1948.
Less than a year later, the People’s Republic of China broke these (speaker tosses sign of Declaration of Human Rights to the ground, indicating the PRC’s rejection of them).
We must pick this Declaration of Universal Human Rights up. We fight for these human rights.
We fight for universal human rights for China.
With its original signature of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, China has signed a promissory note, a promise guaranteeing human rights.
We tell the PRC government today – Free China Now!
Chant with me: Free China Now, Free China Now, Free China Now! (crowd chants in unison).
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Resources:
Tuidang Web Site – Chinese Language
Tuidang Facebook Page – English Language
Quit CCP Web Site – English Language
Nine Commentaries on CCP – English Language
January 5, 2010 – NDTV: Former Chinese Official Renounces Communist Party Membership
January 4, 2010 – R.E.A.L. Report on Philadelphia Chinese Cultural Event and Quit CCP Movement
October 21, 2009: An underground challenge to China’s status quo – by Caylan Ford
July 20, 2009 – Tuidang campaign is most successful civil rights movement in China
Communist China: Newspaper Suspended for Showing Anti-Communist Party Slogan on Front Page
R.E.A.L. Postings on Totalitarianism
January 15, 2010 – R.E.A.L. Report on Shen Yun: Performing for Human Rights and Freedom in China
April 11, 2010 – Tuidang Rally, “Freedom Plaza,” Washington DC, USA – Jeffrey Imm
Good afternoon. My name is Jeffrey Imm, and our group’s name is Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.).
I appreciate all of you here today fighting for freedom.
We share your fight for freedom around the world.
Today is “Holocaust Remembrance Day.” Around the world, people say “Never Again.”
But “Never Again” is not just history. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), “Never Again” is now.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, people talk about concentration camps.
But that’s not just history, in the PRC that’s now.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, people talk about cultures being destroyed.
But in the PRC, “Never Again” is now.
So when we stand in solidarity with those that remember the Holocaust today, we say to them that in the PRC, “Never Again” is now.
Compassion is passion. We share your passion for freedom.
This is “Freedom Plaza.” It was named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Near here, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked on a speech called “I Have a Dream.”
I have a dream – that the people in China will be free.
I have a dream – that the Tuidang – will be remembered as heroes.
I have a dream – that the 71 million who have left the Chinese Communist Party – are just the start of waves of freedom – that will Free China Now!
Share with me: Free China Now, Free China Now, Free China Now! (crowd chants in unison).
We have a dream, but we also have a responsibility.
President Obama, you have a responsibility, under House Resolution 605, to meet with the people fighting for freedom and the Falun Gong.
President Obama, you have a responsibility, to have a foreign policy where human rights are our first priority, not our last.
(Holding up poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
These represent the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were signed by the Republic of China on December 10, 1948.
Less than a year later, the People’s Republic of China broke these (speaker tosses sign of Declaration of Human Rights to the ground, indicating the PRC’s rejection of them).
We must pick this Declaration of Universal Human Rights up. We fight for these human rights.
We fight for universal human rights for China.
With its original signature of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, China has signed a promissory note, a promise guaranteeing human rights.
We tell the PRC government today – Free China Now!
Chant with me: Free China Now, Free China Now, Free China Now! (crowd chants in unison).
