1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Falun Gong Protection Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Falun Gong is a spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition that espouses the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The practice was introduced in China by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992 and aims to improve physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being through exercise, meditation, and moral improvement. (2) On July 20, 1999, after years of escalating harassment by the government, then-General Secretary Jiang Zemin launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to eradicate Falun Gong. Since then, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has detained hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners. (3) In its 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, released on May 12, 2021, the Department of State stated in its entry on China, Prior to the government’s 1999 ban on Falun Gong, the government estimated there were 70 million adherents. Falun Gong sources estimate tens of millions continue to practice privately, and Freedom House estimates seven to 20 million practitioners. . (4) Freedom House in its Freedom in the World 2021 report entry on China stated that the regime’s campaign to eradicate the Falun Gong spiritual group continued in 2020. Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners have received long prison terms in recent years, and many others are arbitrarily detained in various legal education facilities. Detainees typically face torture aimed at forcing them to abandon their beliefs, sometimes resulting in deaths in custody. . (5) In its 2021 report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stated in its key findings for China, according to reports, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were harassed and arrested during 2020 for practicing their faith, and some likely died due to abuse and torture while in custody. Credible international reports also suggested that organ harvesting, including from Falun Gong practitioners, likely continued. . (6)