In a rare show of bipartisan unity, a coalition of 54 of the 140 state lawmakers from Virginia — including senators and delegates — have co-signed a powerful letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter, a bipartisan effort between Virginia delegates Eric Zehr and David Bulova, urges the U.S. government to take a stronger and more decisive stance against the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
2025 is the 26th year since the beginning of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) campaign of repression. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice rooted in meditation and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance (真,善,忍). The crackdown, which began in July 1999, has included mass arrests, forced labor, torture, and execution by forced organ harvesting.
“This year marks the 26th anniversary of a humanitarian tragedy,” the letter states. “In 1999, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) initiated a large-scale effort to eradicate the practice of Falun Gong — a peaceful spiritual practice exercised by millions of people. As you know, the crackdown has been brutal.”
A slew of atrocities
The letter then describes in graphic detail the abuses reported by Falun Gong survivors, many of whom sought asylum and now live in the U.S. Testimonies include: “Left in death bed with four limbs tied.” “Handcuffed and hung in painful position.” “Violently force-fed.” “High-voltage electric shock.” “Not allowed to sleep for three days.” “Husband killed for protecting me.” “Blood tested for forced organ harvesting.”
One survivor even brought two jackets to the Virginia General Assembly — garments she was forced to sew in a labor camp — of the type that were then exported and sold abroad. “Consumers [are] unaware of their origins,” the letter notes.
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Delegate Eric Zehr, who circulated the letter, said he was moved to act after hearing the personal story of a Falun Gong practitioner who had been imprisoned and forced to work in a textile factory in China.
“Hearing her story made me realize that I had not been aware of this. And I realized that probably most people weren’t aware of this,” Zehr told Vision Times in a recent interview. “I saw the opportunity to make more people aware of the issue and of the abuse of the human rights violations and I wanted people to know what’s going on.”
He added, “The organ harvesting has to end. That’s absolutely wrong. And I’m hoping that our State Department can put pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to end this human rights violation.”
Coalition of supporters
Though the legislators applauded prior efforts by Congress and the State Department to spotlight the persecution, including the State Department’s press statement recognizing “a quarter of a century of repression and abuse of Falun Gong” and “promoting accountability for those responsible for human rights abuses and violations,” they also called for more robust measures to hold the CCP accountable.
The letter also calls for the U.S. to ensure that Americans traveling to China for organ transplants are not unknowingly receiving organs harvested from jailed Falun Gong practitioners. It also urges stronger enforcement to prevent products from forced labor camps from entering the U.S. market altogether.
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“We ask for your continued leadership for those who are still fighting, and dying, for even the most basic of liberties,” the letter reads.
Upholding liberty
Zehr emphasized that his mission is local as well as national. He hopes his advocacy will inspire greater awareness in his own community and among fellow legislators. “Even in this small circle that I have influence in — the Virginia House of Delegates — I was able to help make the other delegates aware of what’s going on,” he said, adding, “They can then let their constituents know about this as well when it comes up in conversation.”
In the interview, Zehr also reflected on the values that separate democratic nations from authoritarian regimes.
“The values of the communists are opposite of the values of a free people,” he said. “We’ve been blessed in America with the liberty that we have — an opportunity to offer liberty to others… One of the foundations of our Western American liberties is in Christianity, and that foundation allows for freedom of thought. We don’t force our beliefs on anybody else, which is what the Chinese communists are trying to do.”
He added, “They’re trying to force their beliefs on other people… The Chinese communists think that they are the ultimate, that they are the source of every good thing and thereby making themselves out to be God.”
As the U.S. approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the lawmakers’ call to action is framed not just as a foreign policy issue, but as a test of the country’s moral leadership.
For now, Zehr says he will continue to raise awareness and push for further legislative action — both in Virginia and at the federal level. “This was an opportunity to call on liberty-minded people to take up the defense of those who are suffering without that liberty,” he added.
