Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom is urging U.S. delegates at this weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Singapore to pressure China to grant its citizens full religious freedom.
Non-official Chinese churches and practitioners of Falun Gong are particularly persecuted by Chinese authorities. The Center for Religious Freedom reports that hundreds of pastors and Christian house church leaders are continually abducted or arrested and led through unjust trials.
“Religious persecution is on the upswing in China,” said Center for Religious Freedom director Nina Shea. “It is imperative that the U.S. delegation to APEC make clear to their Chinese counterparts that restrictions on religious freedom are intolerable.”
According to the Vatican, Chinese authorities arrested 83-year-old Catholic Bishop Zhao Zhengdong of Shangyingzhuang June 23. He is reportedly being held at an undisclosed location. The bishop’s arrest is reportedly part of a systematic campaign by the Chinese government to convince Catholic clergy to join the Patriotic Association and bring the so-called “underground church” under its control.