I, the undersigned resident of Canada, draw the attention of the Prime Minister and the House of Commons to the following: 

Whereas, Falun Gong is a peaceful and beneficial spiritual practice centred on the principles of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" and a set of five meditation exercises;  

Whereas, Falun Gong has been the most severely persecuted group in China since July 1999 when the Chinese Communist Party launched an "eradication" campaign against Falun Gong. The policy to "destroy their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and eliminate them completely" has led to the arbitrary detention and torture of hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners for their beliefs;  

Whereas the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Mr. Manfred Nowak reported that 66% of the victims of alleged torture and ill treatment in China were Falun Gong practitioners. "The cruelty and brutality of these alleged acts of torture defy description." 

Whereas, more than 3,477 practitioners have been verified as having been tortured to death as of January 15, 2012. The actual death toll is estimated to be in the tens of thousands, as the Chinese regime imposes an information blockade, and reporting these cases to outside authorities "constitutes a severe crime of  leaking state secrets.”  

Whereas, the U.S. State Department's 2006-2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in China reported that Falun Gong adherents constituted at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in forced labour camps. Currently, 11 of those imprisoned practitioners have close Canadian family ties, and are serving jail terms of up to seven years. 

Whereas, human rights lawyers, such as Gao Zhisheng, who defended Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to harassment, revocation of licence to practice law, arrest, torture, and imprisonment. 

Therefore, on your upcoming trip to China, I respectfully urge you to call on the Chinese regime to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and release all Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and all human rights defenders immediately, including the 11 practitioners with close Canadian family ties.