FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2005

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will be joined by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), and Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) for the release of USCIRF's Policy Focus on China at an on-the-record press conference on Wednesday, November 9, 2005, from 2:00-3:00 p.m., in The Capitol, Room H-203. The press conference is open to members of the media and the public. The findings and recommendations in Policy Focus on China are based on the Commission's August 2005 official two-week delegation to China, when it traveled to Beijing, Urumqi, Kashgar, Chengdu, Lhasa, and Shanghai. The release of Policy Focus on China and its recommendations for U.S. policy are especially timely in light of President George W. Bush's November 14 meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

During its visit, which was the result of several years of diplomatic effort by the United States government, the Commission engaged senior Chinese officials at the national, provincial and local levels, including Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, responsible for the management of religious affairs and the protection of human rights in discussions on Chinese policies and practices relating to religious freedom. In addition, the Commission met with Chinese academics and lawyers, UN officials, and representatives of government-sanctioned Buddhist, Catholic, Taoist, Islamic, and Protestant religious organizations.

"The Commission continues to find that the Chinese government systematically violates the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, contravening both the Chinese constitution and international human rights norms," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie. "Indeed, the room for political openness, public activism, and greater civil and individual freedoms is narrowing in China. Economic freedom, as some had hoped, has not led to more political freedom or human right protections. Within the last week, the Chinese government has shut down the law firm of Gao Zhisheng, a prominent civil rights lawyer who refused to withdraw an open letter urging President Hu Jintao to respect freedom of religion and stop persecuting members of the Falun Gong, and has arrested two priests of the "underground" Catholic Church following an interview they gave to an Italian newspaper. Given the continuing critical human rights problems in China, the Commission believes that these concerns must be raised at the highest levels and that U.S. officials should provide a consistent, candid, and coordinated message about human rights, including religious freedom, in their interactions with Chinese officials. Toward that end, the Commission has recommended policy options to strengthen U.S. human rights diplomacy with China."

What: Press Conference on China with Congressional Members
When: Wednesday, November 9, 2005, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Where: The Capitol, Room H-203

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Michael Cromartie, Chair

• Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair Nina Shea,Vice Chair Preeta D. BansalArchbishop Charles J. ChaputKhaled Abou El FadlRichard D. LandElizabeth H. ProdromouBishop Ricardo RamirezAmbassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2005

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the November 1 order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to vacate its August 2005 ruling in Li v. Gonzales. The original decision - deferring to arguments advanced by the United States Department of Justice - upheld the order to remove a Chinese man who had been arrested, beaten, fired, and charged with the "crime" of organizing an unregistered house church in China. In so holding, the Fifth Circuit ruled that Mr. Li had been subject to prosecution for failing to register his church - not persecuted on the basis of his religious beliefs. The Fifth Circuit held - adopting the argument advanced by the Department of Justice - that China has the "sovereign right" to regulate unregistered religions, and that China's treatment of unregistered churches is an issue for "moral judgment - not a legal one." Subsequently, the Commission wrote the Department of Justice to make it clear that China's control over registered churches - and its prosecution of individuals for engaging in "unauthorized" religious activity - are clearly in violation of international law with regard to freedom of religion or belief.

On November 1, the Fifth Circuit vacated the decision after the Department of Justice - citing the letter written by the Commission - changed its position on removing Mr. Li to China.

The Commission had never before intervened in an individual asylum case. However, the Commission wrote the Department of Justice in this matter because the position taken was at odds with efforts by the President, the Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. U.S. foreign policy toward China and other authoritarian regimes has been clear: it is not permissible under international law to criminalize religious activity on the sole basis that such activity is "unregistered" or "unauthorized." Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 explicitly defines arbitrary religious registration requirements as a "violation of the internationally recognized right to religious freedom." The Commission reminded the Department of Justice that the President clearly shares this concern over China and has personally raised the issue on numerous occasions with the Chinese leadership.

The Commission wrote that Mr. Li is a case in point, and the decision to deny him protection is at odds with the positions advanced by the Administration on conditions for freedom of religion in China and whether or not those conditions amount to violations of international human rights standards. As a precedent, Li v. Gonzales would have undermined the international leadership of the United States in protecting asylum seekers and advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief.

The Fifth Circuit's order to vacate ensures that the original decision in Li v Gonzales cannot be cited as legal precedent to remove other asylum seekers accused of participating in the "crime" of unregistered religious activity.

"Mr. Li, his attorneys, and the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security deserve great credit for working together to change the government's original position on this case, and to have the Fifth Circuit decision vacated. Had the decision been allowed to stand as precedent, it would have seriously limited the ability of the United States to protect people of faith fleeing the increasing tendency among certain authoritarian regimes to criminalize unregistered religious activity - regimes including - among others - China, Belarus, Burma, Eritrea, and Vietnam," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie.

Shortly after reviewing the letter from the Commission, the Department of Homeland Security filed a motion with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) at DOJ to reconsider Mr. Li's case. On October 6, citing the Commission's letter as new evidence, the BIA reversed its earlier ruling and re-instated the Immigration Judge's decision to protect Mr. Li from removal to China.

Even after the Department of Justice reversed itself and decided not to remove Mr. Li, the Commission was concerned that the Fifth Circuit decision - which misrepresented China's criminalization of unregistered religious activity as a legitimate "sovereign right" - remained legal precedent. The Fifth Circuit's decision to vacate the decision allays that concern.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Michael Cromartie, Chair

• Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair Nina Shea,Vice Chair Preeta D. BansalArchbishop Charles J. ChaputKhaled Abou El FadlRichard D. LandElizabeth H. ProdromouBishop Ricardo RamirezAmbassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2005

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Michael Cromartie will testify today before a joint members' briefing of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to examine the ongoing religious freedom violations in Vietnam. The hearing will be held in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2200, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.

Although bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam have grown steadily in the past few years, the human rights situation in Vietnam remains very poor. The State Department designated Vietnam as a "country of particular concern" (CPC) for its severe violations of religious freedom. Today's briefing is timely because the State Department is deciding currently whether or not to redesignate Vietnam as a CPC. The Commission believes that Vietnam should remain a CPC this year and has made this recommendation to both the Secretary of State and the President.

What: Congressional Caucus on Vietnam and Congressional Human Rights Caucus hearing

When: Wednesday, October 26, 2005, 4:00-5:30 p.m.

Where: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2200

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.