DENVER, Colo.—Speakers at this year’s Western Conservative Summit, July 12-13, defended religious freedom and America’s First Amendment.
Mark Chilson, a real estate lender, said he was influenced by conservative politics after working with Bill Armstrong, a leader in the state lending industry.
Chilson said Armstrong’s sympathy for persecuted Christians around the world helped him sympathize with the people of China, where Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and practitioners of Falun Dafa are persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.
“That was perhaps one of the influencing factors getting me to go over to China to learn Chinese at the age of 36,” said Chilson. “And then to being of service—to the extent that I can—to the cause of Chinese people that is now coming to the floor: freeing the Chinese people from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
Supporting religious freedom is fundamental to who we are as a nation, and matters relating to Falun Gong’s persecution in China are urgent and deserve scrutiny from the U.S. and the world. China must cease its oppression and torture of Falun Gong members. https://t.co/aWyoZnuK5f
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) July 12, 2019
“I believe that freedom of religion or belief is not simply one right amongst many but actually the one on which so many others depend.”
Bishop @pmounstephen has carried out an independent review into @foreignoffice response to persecution of Christians around the world pic.twitter.com/Iutz8cENsx
— Foreign Office ???????? #DefendMediaFreedom (@foreignoffice) July 8, 2019
Alliance of Faith
Chislon said that as a Christian, he believes in religious freedom and does not see the persecution of Falun Dafa—a meditation practice of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance—as an exception to that belief. He also said the rising number of organ sales documented in China after the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa began is a clear example of the communist regime’s evil, referring to the regime’s practice of forced organ harvesting.
An independent tribunal in London recently confirmed, after a yearlong investigation, that the Chinese communist regime is killing prisoners of conscience and forcibly harvesting their organs.
“Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world—as the most persecuted religion, we should have a lot of sympathy for the Falun Gong,” said Chilson. “It’s our obligation to continue to press NBC, CNN, and all of the cable and online networks to keep this at the forefront and not shove it under the rug.”
