U.S. lawmakers urge action on Chinese religious persecution during Xi visit

During a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates have called for increased pressure on the Chinese government regarding religious persecution.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt and Representative Robert Aderholt have urged the administration to address the plight of the ‘Zion 8’, a group of Christians jailed in China for their faith. Meanwhile, more than 300 Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s systematic repression of their community.

Advocates at the rally urged the U.S. government to raise issues of forced organ harvesting and religious persecution during diplomatic talks. Representative Pat Ryan, a cosponsor of the Falun Gong Protection Act, emphasized bipartisan support in Congress for measures such as H.R. 1540 and H.R. 1503, which aim to impose sanctions on individuals involved in forced organ harvesting.