As President Obama hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit, a coalition of human rights groups will hold a rally at Lafayette Park, near the White House, on September 25, 2015 to highlight China’s dismal human rights record and to urge President Obama to send a strong message to the Chinese leadership that human rights abuses in China must end. Under the banner of “Let Freedom Ring for Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongols,” the rally will take place between 11 am and 1 pm.
Since Xi Jinping became the top leader of China, Chinese Christians, writers, human rights lawyers, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols and many other communities have suffered increased persecution and an unrelenting assault on their basic human rights.
The coalition of NGOs have adopted a hashtag #ChinaRightsNow and the organizations include:
- Amnesty International
- China Aid
- Formosan Association for Public Affairs
- Initiatives for China
- International Campaign for Tibet
- Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center
- Students for a Free Tibet
- Uyghur American Association
- Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
In the morning of September 25, 2015 (the same day as the White House State Dinner in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping) a “Stateless Breakfast” will be held on Capitol Hill to honor human rights defenders in China. It is hosted by several human rights groups in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).
Members of Congress and civil society leaders, including former political prisoners, will raise their glasses in honor of the many valiant human rights defenders, including