Washington, DC: The US government has released a report last year showing that the number of human rights violations in China is high and that Christians in China are still being persecuted after the Vatican-China Agreement was signed. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an independent agency monitoring the religious freedom violations in China, came out this Wednesday. The analysis is from August 2018 to August 2019.
The report notes that the Communist government has abused the country’s legal system in order to seize political and social control in China, which has hardened human rights. Even after the Vatican and China signed an agreement in September 2018 with regard to the unification between the government-recognized Patriotic Church in China and the lower Vatican’s recognition of sovereignty, severe religious persecution has taken place in the country. The report highlights the rise in religious persecution in China, including the destruction of shrines, the destruction of crucifixes, and the unjust imprisonment of clergymen.
The report also warns that the Chinese government’s plan is to continue repression this year. The legislation, which is forcing religious organizations to promote the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party, is expected to be implemented in February. China’s lower house and house-centered worship will be outlawed. The report also mentions the unjust imprisonment of Christian clergy in the Shuanhua Diocese of Hebei province and human rights violations faced by Uighur Muslims. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China was founded in 2000.
