White House Religious Commission: CCP’s Transnational Repression Is Essentially War

White House Religious Liberty Commission member Eric Metaxas told The Dajiyuan that the CCP’s acts of transnational repression against Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts on U.S. soil are essentially an act of war. (Li Chen / The Dajiyuan)

[People News] Eric Metaxas, a member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, told The Dajiyuan that the CCP’s acts of transnational repression against Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts on U.S. soil are essentially an act of war.

According to a report by The Dajiyuan journalist Li Chen, since 2024 the CCP has weaponized U.S. social media, mainstream media, and the U.S. judicial system, rapidly escalating its campaign of transnational repression against Falun Gong and Shen Yun Performing Arts. Previously, prominent legal scholar and former Peking University Law professor Yuan Hongbing told The Dajiyuan that Xi Jinping had ordered an escalation of transnational persecution against Falun Gong, implemented mainly through “public opinion warfare” and “legal warfare.”

Regarding these CCP actions in the U.S. to repress Falun Gong, Metaxas said:

“I am glad The Dajiyuan is reporting on this, because once most Americans hear about it, they will recognize that this is essentially a form of war.”

Metaxas is the author of the American bestseller Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, as well as a radio host and public speaker. He has received the Canterbury Medal awarded by the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom for his contributions to religious liberty.

He further said the CCP’s transnational repression of Falun Gong is “a different form of warfare. And the (U.S.) government will not tolerate it, and the American people will not tolerate it.”

Beyond “public opinion warfare” and “legal warfare,” the CCP continues to use various extreme violent tactics to threaten overseas Falun Gong practitioners.

The Falun Dafa Information Center stated that as of September 25, 2025, it had documented at least 184 death threats against Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters, with 7 such cases in September alone.

For years, Shen Yun Performing Arts has been a target of malicious CCP attacks. On February 20, 2025, Shen Yun’s opening performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. faced a bomb threat. Later that afternoon, the threat was cleared and the performance went on as scheduled. Shen Yun, based in New York, presents performances showcasing China before communism.

Metaxas said the CCP’s transnational repression “is a threat to America’s fundamental freedoms. We Americans will not tolerate anyone engaging in such behavior.”

“When a foreign government does this, it is especially serious. I believe the Trump administration will take action.”

In March, NTD reporter Iris Tao asked a question at a White House press briefing: How would the Trump administration respond to the bomb threat against Shen Yun’s performance at the Kennedy Center? The President has emphasized art and culture, so how will the administration respond to foreign actors attempting to undermine art and culture in the United States?

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explicitly warned foreign actors and said they would be held accountable.

“Don’t sabotage,” Leavitt said. “This administration will take the matter very seriously and hold those responsible to account.”

Metaxas suggested that the CCP’s escalation of repression against Falun Gong and Shen Yun in the U.S. should be reported directly to the White House Religious Liberty Commission.

He said:

“You should bring this matter to our Commission’s attention. Because this issue is something we care about. I believe if President Trump and his administration are made aware of these situations, they will take very serious action to respond.”

On May 1, 2025, U.S. President Trump signed a special executive order establishing a new Religious Liberty Commission to ensure that religious individuals and institutions can freely practice their faith without fear of discrimination or hostility from the government. △