Oct 1, 2019

On China’s National Day, USCIRF Urges U.S. Government to Take Action on Religious Freedom

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today marks the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, also known as National Day. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to urge the U.S. government to take decisive action against the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing campaign of repression against Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners and other religious groups.

“Communist China’s actions represent a wholesale assault on the very idea of independent religion,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “Hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens are being locked up or harassed simply because they choose to believe in a god other than Xi Jinping. Now is the time for the U.S. government to use all the tools at its disposal, including targeted sanctions and visa bans, to hold the Chinese officials responsible for this campaign of repression accountable.”

“USCIRF remains extremely concerned about worsening religious freedom conditions in China and the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party goes to deny and deceive the international community about its appalling human rights record,” added Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee. “Harassing, disappearing, interning, and imprisoning people is no way to treat peaceful religious believers. The U.S. government cannot turn a blind eye towards these violations.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and International Religious Freedom Act to enact targeted sanctions and visa bans against Chinese officials responsible for these abuses, especially Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. USCIRF recently released a report documenting how the Chinese government uses surveillance cameras, biometric technology and artificial intelligence to monitor and harass religious communities.

 

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.