Lankford Remembers Victims of Chinese Communist Party on 105th Anniversary

WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Angus King (I-ME) today introduced a bipartisan resolution observing the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) coming into power and remembering the countless lives destroyed by the CCP’s decades-long campaign of political and religious repression. The resolution comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Washington for a state visit with President Donald Trump. It documents the CCP’s history of mass persecution, including the Great Chinese Famine, the Tiananmen Square massacre, and decades of repression against religious minorities and political dissidents. It also highlights the CCP’s ongoing persecution of Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, and others, as well as its efforts to conduct transnational repression against dissidents living outside China. “For 105 years, the Chinese Communist Party has oppressed its own people, persecuted people of faith, and denied basic freedoms,” said Lankford. “As the United States engages with Beijing, we cannot forget the millions who have suffered under the CCP or those who continue to live under its repression today. The United States must continue to stand for religious freedom, human rights, and the dignity of every person.” “Abraham Lincoln, at his Gettysburg Address, famously said that a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” said King. “And while we, as Americans, have had differing views on policy, we all believe that freedom and democracy are at the core of our country’s values. That’s why we have chosen to highlight the immeasurable consequences that the Chinese communist party has done to its own people –and the global community—since it came to power more than 100 years ago. With this resolution, and on the heels of the Trump-Xi summit, we remember the countless lives that the Chinese Communist Party has destroyed and recommit to the basic tenets of equality and liberty.” Background The resolution also recognizes the CCP’s continued political, military, economic, and social pressure against Taiwan and its efforts to undermine religious freedom and fundamental human rights. Lankford has long worked on a bipartisan basis to confront religious persecution in China. Earlier this year, Lankford and bipartisan colleagues urged President Trump to raise the case of imprisoned Pastor Ezra Jin directly with Xi. President Trump subsequently raised Jin’s case with Xi, and Chinese authorities released Jin in July. You can learn more about the resolution HERE in Fox News and can download it HERE . ###