Mr. Speaker, it is very gracious of colleagues to finally give me the time I need to table a sufficient number of petitions.
The first petition highlights the horrific persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. We table these petitions regularly, but there are a number of practitioners and leaders of the Falun Gong community on the Hill today, and I think all members would join me in welcoming them.
In tabling this petition on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, I want to highlight three specific cases of practitioners who are imprisoned in China: Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen from Vancouver who was illegally sentenced to prison for eight years simply because of being a Falun Gong practitioner; Xie Mingguang, the father of a permanent resident living in Regina who was imprisoned for being a Falun Gong practitioner and faces torture as a result; and He Lizhong, the brother of a Canadian citizen from Mississauga who was also illegally arrested simply for being a Falun Gong practitioner.
These and other cases of Canadian citizens or people with close ties to Canada who face persecution in the PRC because they are Falun Gong practitioners need to be highlighted. I join colleagues in highlighting these specific cases, as well as calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in general.
The petitioners want the House to take strong, clear action opposing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and to explicitly continue to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.