Event: China’s Policies Toward Spiritual Movements, roundtable discussion, by The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, June 18, 2010

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China –

ROUNDTABLE

China’s Policies Toward Spiritual Movements (6/18/10)

Friday, June 18, 2010, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Room 628, Dirksen Senate Office Building
Address: Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002

Panelists will examine the Chinese government’s policies toward spiritual movements and the factors that drive its treatment of members of spiritual groups. The Chinese government has allowed space for some spiritual movements to operate in China, but has banned other groups, such as Falun Gong. Authorities have subjected members of Falun Gong and other banned groups to strict surveillance, and in some cases, imprisonment, detention outside the legal system, and other abuses. Why does the Chinese government consider some spiritual movements a threat? What challenges and prospects do Falun Gong practitioners face in China that adherents of other groups do not? What does the Chinese government’s treatment of spiritual movements mean for the future of religious freedom in China?

Panelists:
# James Tong, Professor, UCLA Department of Political Science
# Ethan Gutmann, Adjunct Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
# Mark Shan, Program in Philosophy, Theology and Ethics, Boston University
# Sarah Cook, Asia Research Analyst, Freedom House

CECC Roundtables are open to the public and no reservation is required.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) was created by Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. The Commission consists of nine Senators, nine Members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President. The current (111th Congress) Chairman is Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) and the Cochairman is Representative Sander M. Levin (D-MI).

– from The Congressional-Executive Commission on China