Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4821) to hold accountable senior officials of the Government of the People's Republic of China who are responsible for, complicit in, or have directly persecuted Christians in China, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4821
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the Department of State's International Religious Freedom (IRF) report estimates, Buddhists comprise 18.2 percent of the country's total population, Christians, 5.1 percent, Muslims, 1.8 percent, followers of folk religions, 21.9 percent, and atheists or unaffiliated persons, 52.2 percent, with Hindus, Jews, and Taoists comprising less than one percent.
(2) The Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) recognizes five official religions, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism (according to the State Department's IRF report) and only religious groups belonging to one of the five sanctioned ``patriotic religious associations'' representing these religions are permitted to register with the government and hold worship service, excluding all other faiths and denying the ability to worship without being registered with the government.
(3) The activities of state-sanctioned religious organizations are regulated by the Chinese Communist Party, which manages all aspects of religious life.
(4) The Chinese Communist Party is actively seeking to control, govern, and manipulate all aspects of faith through the ``Sinicization of Religion'', a process intended to shape religious traditions and doctrines so they conform with the objectives of the Chinese Communist Party.
(5) On February 1, 2018, the PRC Government implemented new religious regulations that imposed restrictions on Chinese contacts with overseas religious organizations, required government approval for religious schools, websites, and any online religious service, and effectively banned unauthorized religious gatherings and teachings.
(6) There are numerous reports that authorities forced closures of Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Taoist houses of worship and destroyed public displays of religious symbols throughout the country.
(7) Authorities arrested and detained religious leaders trying to hold services online.
(8) There are credible reports of Chinese authorities raiding house churches and other places of religious worship, removing and confiscating religious paraphernalia, installing surveillance cameras on religious property, pressuring congregations to sing songs of the Chinese Communist Party and display the national flag during worship, forcing churches to replace images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and banning children and students from attending religious services.
(9) It has been reported that the PRC is rewriting and will issue a version of the Bible with the ``correct understanding'' of the text according to the Chinese Communist Party. Authorities continued to restrict the printing and distribution of the Bible, Quran, and other religious literature, and penalized publishing and copying businesses that handled religious materials.
(10) According to the Department of State's IRF reports, the PRC Government has imprisoned thousands of individuals of all faiths for practicing their religious beliefs and often labels them as ``cults''.
(11) The Political Prisoner Database maintained by the human rights NGO Dui Hua Foundation counted 3,492 individuals imprisoned for ``organizing or using a `cult' to undermine implementation of the law.'' Prisoners include--
(A) the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedun Choekyi Nyima, who has been held captive along with his parents since May 17, 1995;
(B) Pastor Zhang Shaojie, a Three-Self church pastor from Nanle County in central Henan was sentenced in July 2014 to 12 years in prison for ``gathering a crowd to disrupt the public order'';
(C) Pastor John Cao, a United States permanent resident from Greensboro, North Carolina, who was sentenced for 7 years in prison in March 2018 under contrived charges of organizing illegal border crossings; and
(D) Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church who was arrested and sentenced to 9 years in prison for ``inciting to subvert state power'' and ``illegal business operations''.
(12) Authorities continue to detain Falun Gong practitioners and subject them to harsh and inhumane treatment.
(13) Since 1999, the Department of State has designated the PRC as a country of particular concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
(14) The National Security Strategy of the United States, issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 1999, 1998, and 1997, committed the United States to promoting international religious freedom to advance the security, economic, and other national interests of the United States. SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Holding PRC Officials Responsible for Religious Freedom Abuses Targeting Chinese Christians or Other Religious Minorities.--It is the policy of the United States to consider senior officials of the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) who are responsible for or have directly carried out, at any time, persecution of Christians or other religious minorities in the PRC to have committed--
(1) a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights for purposes of imposing sanctions with respect to such officials under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); and
(2) a particularly severe violation of religious freedom for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) with respect to such officials.
(b) Department of State Programming to Promote Religious Freedom in the People's Republic of China.--The Ambassador- at-Large for International Religious Freedom should support efforts to protect and promote international religious freedom in the PRC and for programs to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the PRC.
(c) Designation of the People's Republic of China as a Country of Particular Concern.--It is the policy of the United States to continue to designate the PRC as a ``country of particular concern'', as long as the PRC continues to engage in systematic and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-292). SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States should promote religious freedom in the PRC by--
(1) strengthening religious freedom diplomacy on behalf of Christians and other religious minorities facing restrictions in the PRC;
(2) raising cases relating to religious or political prisoners at the highest levels with PRC officials because experience demonstrates that consistently raising prisoner cases can result in improved treatment, reduced sentences, or in some cases, release from custody, detention, or imprisonment;
(3) encouraging Members of Congress to ``adopt'' a prisoner of conscience in the PRC through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's ``Defending Freedom Project'', raise the case with PRC officials, and work publicly for their release;
(4) calling on the PRC Government to unconditionally release religious and political prisoners or, at the very least, ensure that detainees are treated humanely with access to family, the lawyer of their choice, independent medical care, and the ability to practice their faith while in detention;
(5) encouraging the global faith community to speak in solidarity with the persecuted religious groups in the PRC; and
(6) hosting, once every two years, the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom organized by the Department of State in order to bring together leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom, identify means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and promote great respect for and preservation of religious liberty. SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACTIONS AT UNITED NATIONS.
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, as well as for its persecution of Christians, Falun Gong, and other religious groups.
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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. 4821, as amended.
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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4821, the Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative Vicky Hartzler.
The state of religious freedom in China has been alarming for several years now. Despite religious freedom being guaranteed in its constitution, the PRC actively suppresses this fundamental right.
While this government's systemic orchestration of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Uyghur region has been widely broadcasted across international media, followers of a variety of religious faiths and traditions have long experienced religious persecution in China.
The ability to freely practice one's religion or engage in worship has continued to deteriorate. Those who bravely speak out against the infringement of religious freedom or refuse to join state-sanctioned religious organizations face the PRC Government's inhumane repression and human rights abuses.
Thousands of religious leaders and worshippers have been harassed, detained, disappeared, tortured, physically abused, sentenced to prison, or subjected to forced labor and indoctrination due to their religious affiliation or the practice of their religious beliefs. Some have even been pressured to renounce their religious beliefs.
In addition to these atrocities, the People's Republic of China officials have removed or replaced religious images, iconography, and symbols; have desecrated or demolished places of worship; and have rewritten religious text in an effort to align with Communist Party ideology.
This is unacceptable, but infringement on personal rights has become business as usual in China. Nobody should be forced to endure discrimination because of their religion anywhere in the world.
Congress must act now to support efforts to protect and promote religious freedom in China and to protect adherents of all religious faiths in China. We must continue to call out the PRC Government for these atrocities and take actions to prevent the stifling of religious freedom in China.
By passing this important, bipartisan legislation, this body sends a clear message to the PRC Government that it will be held accountable for its pattern of gross human rights abuses and severe violations of religious freedoms.
House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, September 23, 2022. Hon. Gregory Meeks, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Meeks: This letter is to advise you that the Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to review the provisions in H.R. 4821, the ``Combating the Persecution of Christians in China Act,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting with us on those provisions. 4821, with the understanding that we do not thereby waive any future jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject matters.
In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the right to request an appropriate number of conferees to address any concerns with these or similar provisions that may arise in conference.
Please place this letter into the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding this matter and others between our committees. Sincerely, Jerrold Nadler, Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, September 26, 2022. Hon. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning H.R. 4821, the ``Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act.'' I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.
I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary under House Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on H.R. 4821 to expedite floor consideration. I further acknowledge that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your jurisdiction.
I also acknowledge that your Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as this, or similar legislation moves forward and will support the appointment of Committee on the Judiciary conferees during any House-Senate conference convened on this legislation.
Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman.
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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I am ready to close.
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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4821 sends a strong and unequivocal message that the United States stands firmly in support of worshippers of all religious traditions and faiths and their ability to freely practice their religion or engage in worship without fear of discrimination or persecution.
This legislation signals strong bipartisan House support for the administration to hold accountable all those responsible for the severe violations of religious freedom and persecution of religious groups in China.
Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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