The crackdown on Falun Gong in the People’s Republic of China has led to the unjust imprisonment of thousands of innocent practitioners, has subjected them to severe forms of mental and physical abuse, and has caused their families and loved ones immeasurable amounts of emotional agony.  In the wake of this ongoing tragedy, many American families have lost their loved ones or still have family members persecuted in China today.

2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong in China.  Over the past 10 years, Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMR) has collaborated with the United States and other Western countries to rescue persecuted members of this religion.

Like the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust and the rescue of black slaves in the 19^th century United States, the rescue of persecuted Falun Gong spiritual believers in China presents a host of difficulties and challenges. Individuals in China willing to help persecuted members of the religion risk severe consequences if they are caught. Western Government officials risk criticism from Communist Party leaders at the highest levels in China for whatever support and help they provide Falun Gong. Finally, the hostility generated towards Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party’s global public relations campaign provides an additional daunting obstacle to rescue. Nonetheless, with the assistance of Western government officials, human rights NGOs and many courageous individuals who reside in China, GMR has devoted its time and resources to the rescue of persecuted Falun Gong spiritual believers in China.

GMR Rescue Effort:

Officially founded in 2002 by constituent groups from sixteen countries, GMR has rescued many persecuted members of the Falun Gong faith including the highly acclaimed artist and architect Mr. Kunlun Zhang, several prominent Professors from Tsinghua University, and many women (women make up the largest percentage of Falun Gong adherents in China).  To this end, and with the aid of Western government leaders and human rights advocates, GMR has developed an informal network of routes through which members of the persecuted religion are able to escape to the United States and other Western states.

GMR’s rescue work depends largely on the contributions of those who were rescued by GRM. Thankful for the freedoms they now enjoy in the United States and other Western states, these individuals have helped GMR rescue other Falun Gong practitioners who were being persecuted in China based solely on their religious beliefs. As one Falun Gong believer said in his tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary on January 21, 2008:

When I first arrived [in the United States] I noticed that people in this country

            could say what they think without being arrested by the thought police. I noticed

            that people went to church on Sundays and that all people were free to practice

            their religion.

Until all people in China are free from torture and persecution based solely on their religious beliefs, GMR will continue to operate and expand their contemporary version of the underground railroad systems that enabled 19^th Century Black Slaves in the United States and their Jewish counterparts in Europe during the Holocaust to escape to freedom.

Many Falun Gong practitioners that are illegally imprisoned and persecuted in China have family members in the United States.  GRM has compiled a brief report of 21 such victims who are currently being tortured in Chinese prisons and labor camps for their belief in the Falun Gong tenets of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.  In light of the documented history of human rights violations committed against Falun Gong practitioners within these prisons and labor camps, these U.S. families live each day fearing for the well-being of their loved ones. These cases demonstrate that the effects of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong reach well beyond the borders of China. 

Rescuing these 21 Falun Gong practitioners would be a significant step in the direction of regaining freedom for all Falun Gong practitioners in China.  Past efforts have shown that GMR can truly make a difference in the lives of victims and their families and can give those similarly situated hope that their days of suffering shall too come to an end

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