(Minghui.org) Bowling Green, one of the oldest towns in Virginia and the county seat of Caroline County, passed a resolution on August 5, condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution against Falun Gong in China. In particular, it brought awareness of the CCP’s forced organ harvesting by educating local residents, including those who have plans for organ tourism.

This is the 18th resolution passed by the local governments in Virginia this year alone. Several Bowling Green officials, including the vice-mayor, praised Falun Gong practitioners’ persistent efforts in informing the public about the persecution. They also thanked practitioners for their kindness and perseverance.

During an online council meeting on the evening of August 5, Bowling Green Virginia passed a resolution to stop the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Vice-Mayor: Information From Practitioners is “Eye Opening”

Valarie Coyle, the vice-mayor of Bowling Green, said that forced organ harvesting in China is horrific. She said in an interview, “I just cannot understand why that is happening. It is inhumane. There is just no compassion for human life, whether it is a prisoner or not, you just cannot do that. I feel very, very sad that human life in this part of the world [China] is not worth anything.”

She said that organ transplants have a long waiting time in the United States. In fact, her cousin waited a long time for a kidney transplant and her neighbor also waited a year to secure a kidney.

She thanked the practitioners for their efforts. “The information Falun Gong provided to us was just really, really eye-opening. I shared with some other people,” she explained, “Because it brings the awareness to people who don’t know what is happening. I believe bringing the awareness is a start to stopping the organ harvesting.”

Councilor: Appreciate the Compassion of the Practitioners

Township councilor Jeff Voit was also impressed by what the Falun Gong practitioners have done. “I am endlessly proud of the courage they have shown so far, and the persistence they have. I had the pleasure to see them multiple times, in different meetings and different localities, and of their passion, of which I have the utmost respect for them,” he said.

“I see the strength of their character, and that should be respected. I certainly appreciate the compassion that the followers have,” he continued, “I think it shows that they are willing to take it far, and it shows how strong their belief is, and that should be commended.”

He was also happy to see the progress made by the local government. “I am proud that we in Bowling Green have taken this small step (the resolution) at least to make our local American people aware of the issue, and support the actions of your supporters here,” he continued, “I am happy to be part of this and sincerely thank you Falun Gong practitioners for bringing the situation thoroughly to Bowling Green and the area around.”

He said that the U.S. government had made statements calling for the CCP to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. He looked forward to measures that ensured it would happen. “The UN and other countries need to be approached, and more voices need to add their efforts too to ask them [CCP officials]… We need to make sure their voices are heard and work [in] unity with other organizations,” he concluded. “It is suitable to call it genocide. Anyone saying it is not is completely wrong.”

Councilor: Our Citizens of This Country Should Have Known This

Because the mainstream media seldom reports on the persecution of Falun Gong, township councilor Arthur Wholey said he had not heard about this previously.

He said it was good to hear from Falun Gong practitioners because the information was from individuals with firsthand experience, “We can take the information [and] pass it along to our citizens, so that they are aware of the risks of traveling to China for organ transplants.”

He looked forward to more reports on this. “We got to see the factual information that was there, and the mainstream media has done little to cover this important issue,” he continued. “Our citizens of the country should know that. If they go to China for an organ transplant, they might harm other people’s lives.”

He said that forced organ harvesting should also be brought up at top-level meetings between the U.S. and the CCP. In the process of that, “The more we can do for our citizens, the better the impact on the citizens of China that [are] subject to organ harvesting,” he added.

Wholey also shared information on the resolution on his official Facebook account.

Below is the full text of the resolution:

“A Resolution to Educate Bowling Green Residents and the Medical Community on the Risks of Traveling to China for Organ Transplants in Light of Recent Reports of State-Sponsored Organ Harvesting from Prisoners of Conscience

“WHEREAS, extensive and credible reports have revealed mass killing of prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, primarily practitioners of the Chinese spiritual practice of Falun Gong, but also other religions and ethnic groups, in order to obtain organs for transplants; and

“WHEREAS, the China Tribunal, an independent tribunal sitting in London chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice, who was a prosecutor at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, concluded on June 18, 2019 in a unanimous determination at the end this year-long hearing that the killing of detainees in China for organ transplants is continuing and victims include imprisoned followers of the Falun Gong movement; and

“the 2017 Freedom House report ‘The Battle for China’s Spirit’ states that ‘available evidence suggests that forced extraction of organs from Falun Gong detainee of sale in transplant operations has occurred on a large scale and may be continuing’; and

“WHEREAS, an investigative report published in June 2016 by human rights attorney David Matas, former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour and journalist Ethan Gutmann estimated that China is performing transplants at a rate amounting to ‘an industrial-scale, state-directed organ transplantation system controlled through national policies and funding and implicating both the military and civilian healthcare system’; and

“WHEREAS, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice involving meditative ‘qigong’ exercises and centered on the values of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, became increasingly popular in China in the late 1990’s with multiple estimates placing the number of practitioners at upwards of seventy million (70,000,000); and

“WHEREAS, in July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to eradicate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained extra-legally in Chinese reeducation-through-labor camps, detention centers and prisons where physical and mental torture is common; and

“WHEREAS, in June 2016, the United States House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 343 condemning in systemic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from practitioners of Falun Gong and other prisoners of conscience; and

“WHEREAS, Town of Bowling Green residents should be fully informed of the organ source in China before they make the decision to engage in organ transplant tourism in China and the Town Council should assist in raising awareness in this regard,

“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Bowling Green Council condemning in the strongest possible terms in the persecution of Falun Gong and the state-sponsored organ harvesting of all prisoners of conscience currently being carried out by the Chinese Communist regime; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the United States government to thoroughly investigate organ transplant practices in China and take all reasonable steps to end the practice of nonconsensual organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the residents and the medical community servicing the Town of Bowling Green and the immediate region be informed about the risks of travel to China for organ transplants to help prevent local citizens from becoming accomplices in state-sponsored forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be provided to the Governor of Virginia, Virginia’s General Assembly, Virginia’s Congressional delegation and two U.S. Senators and Virginia’s Department of Health.

“Adopted this 5th day of August, 2021”