Republican senators Red Budd (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced bicameral legislation designed to combat the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) religious persecution.
Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) is behind a similar bill in the House.
“One of the most sacred human rights is the right to freely practice your religion,” Budd said in a video. “It was part of why the United States fought wars of independence.”
“The Chinese government has violated these rights for decades by routinely and egregiously persecuting Christians and other religious groups, from placing Uyghurs in concentration camps to barring Christians from holding church services,” he added. “That’s why my bill, the ‘Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups and China Act,’ is so important. It declares that it is the policy of the United States to hold China accountable for human rights abuses, using both economic levers and through trade negotiations.”
In an October 27 press release, Tillis said, “The Chinese government has an abysmal human rights record and has persecuted its citizens for practicing their own religious beliefs for far too long. I am proud to co-chair the Senate Human Rights Caucus and participate in the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedom Project by advocating for prisoners of conscience in China including Pastor John Cao and Pastor Wang Yi.
“The United States should work to hold China accountable and take China’s blatant disregard for religious freedom into consideration when conducting any future business or trade negotiations.”
The bill calls upon the United Nations to issue a “formal condemnation” of the CCP’s human rights violations. “It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations Human Rights Council should issue a formal condemnation of the People’s Republic of China for the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups and the persecution of Christians, Falun Gong, and other religious groups,” the document reads.
According to the bill, “It is the sense of Congress that the United States should promote religious freedom in the People’s Republic of China by strengthening diplomacy relating to religious freedom on behalf of Christians and other religious minorities facing restrictions in the People’s Republic of China, including through the widespread engagement of international partners to combat the violations against religious freedom committed by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.”
Members of Congress are also to be encouraged to “become advocates” for religious prisoners.
