Freedom of Religion
CECC Chairs’ Statement on President Xi’s Speech on Religion
Call on Xi to End Destruction of Religious Property and Cease Unlawful Detention of Religious Leaders and Lawyers Seeking to Represent Them
April 26, 2016
(Washington DC)—Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address before senior Communist Party leaders at a conference on religion this past weekend, the chair and cochair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today issued the following statements:
As President Obama prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24-25, 2015, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) will hold a hearing to examine the critical human rights and rule of law issues that deserve frank and robust discussions during the planned state visit.
The Communist Party continues to see religious groups as a potential threat, needing to be managed, controlled, or crushed. In fact, the Party issued guidelines in May prohibiting religious believers as members. President Xi Jinping said recently that religious groups must be free of “foreign influence,” loyal to the “socialist state,” and managed “by the law.” No faith group is exempt from state control. New laws issued this year view “cults” and strong religious adherence among Uyghur Muslims as national security problems, legitimizing draconian restrictions against this population. In the past year, crosses on Christian churches were torn down reportedly because they attracted too much attention.
Background on Zhang’s Case
On November 16, 2013, public security officials in Nanle county, Henan province detained Nanle County Christian Church pastor Zhang Shaojie and over 20 church members, after they petitioned in Beijing municipality over a land dispute with the local government.[1] Authorities later charged Zhang with “fraud” and “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.”[2] When Zhang’s family and other church members demanded his release at the local public security bureau, more than 100 police reportedly “violently repressed” the protest, resulting in several hospitalizations and more than 10 detentions.[3]
Congressional-Executive Commission on China | www.cecc.gov
July 21, 2014
(Washington DC)—Given the 15th anniversary of the crackdown on the Falun Gong in China, the Chairman and Cochairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today urged the Chinese government to end its campaign of suppression against Falun Gong practitioners.
In March 2013, the Zhejiang provincial government launched a three-year (2013–2015) “Three Rectifications and One Demolition” campaign to “rectify” and demolish “illegal structures.”[1] While the campaign’s stated aim was to address “illegal structures,” Zhejiang authorities appeared to target Christian churches[2] and officials’ rhetoric in meetings and government reports appeared to demonstrate a negative view of the growth of Christianity in Zhejiang and an intention to target religious sites, especially Christian sites, for demolition.
Congressional-Executive Commission on China | www.cecc.gov
CECC Releases Chinese Translation of 2011 Annual Report Executive Summary
May 15, 2012
Congressional-Executive Commission on China | www.cecc.gov
Statement of CECC Chairman Christopher Smith and Cochairman Sherrod Brown on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's Visit to the United States
February 14, 2012
(Washington, DC)—The chairmen of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China today called on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to take concrete steps to improve human rights and the rule of law in China.