Title: A resolution condemning persecution of religious minorities in the People's Republic of China and any actions that limit their free expression and practice of faith.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Condemns the persecution of religious minorities in China.
Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to religious freedom and tolerance and to protecting religious minorities facing persecution.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 667 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 667

Condemning persecution of religious minorities in the People's Republic 
of China and any actions that limit their free expression and practice 
                               of faith.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 4, 2018

Mr. Perdue (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. 
 Baldwin, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Daines, Mr. 
  Rubio, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Moran, Mr. Rounds, Ms. 
Murkowski, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning persecution of religious minorities in the People's Republic 
of China and any actions that limit their free expression and practice 
                               of faith.

Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that 
        ``everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; 
        this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and 
        freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or 
        private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, 
        worship and observance'';
Whereas Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC) 
        of 1982 states, ``Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy 
        freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or 
        individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any 
        religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, any 
        religion.'';
Whereas the United States Government estimates there are 658,000,000 religious 
        believers in China, including 251,000,000 Buddhists, 70,000,000 
        Christians, 25,000,000 Muslims, 302,000,000 observers of folk religions, 
        and 10,000,000 observers of other faiths, including Taoism;
Whereas many members of religious minority groups in China, including Uighurs, 
        Hui, and Kazakh Muslims; Tibetan Buddhists; Catholics; Protestants; and 
        Falun Gong, face severe repression and discrimination because of their 
        beliefs;
Whereas Freedom House has labeled persecution of Protestants in the People's 
        Republic of China as ``high'' on its spectrum of religious persecution;
Whereas government regulations in China require religious groups to register 
        with the government through state-sanctioned patriotic religious 
        associations, which regularly review sermons and require church leaders 
        to attend education sessions with religious bureau officials;
Whereas authorities continue to arrest and harass Christians in Zhejiang 
        Province, including by requiring Christian churches to install 
        surveillance cameras to enable daily police monitoring of their 
        activities;
Whereas there is an ongoing campaign by the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China to remove crosses and demolish churches;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China considers several 
        Christian groups to be ``evil cults'';
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China restricts religious 
        education in institutions across the country, including the ability of 
        Muslims and Christians to speak about their faith among university 
        students, as well as strictly banning meetings of student religious 
        organizations;
Whereas national printing regulations restrict the publication and distribution 
        of literature with religious content, allowing for religious texts 
        published without authorization, including Bibles and Qurans, to be 
        confiscated, and unauthorized publishing houses, closed;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China limits distribution of 
        Bibles to patriotic religious association entities, and because 
        individuals cannot order Bibles directly from publishing houses, 
        unregistered churches have reported that the supply and distribution of 
        Bibles is inadequate;
Whereas authorities in China continue to limit the number of Christian titles 
        that can be published annually, with draft manuscripts closely reviewed;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to cite 
        concerns over the ``three evils'' of ``ethnic separatism, religious 
        extremism, and violent terrorism'' as grounds to enact and enforce 
        restrictions on religious practices of Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur 
        Autonomous Region (XUAR), including Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui, and 
        Tajiks;
Whereas it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims and members 
        of other Muslim minority groups have been forcibly sent to reeducation 
        centers, and extensive and invasive security and surveillance practices 
        have been instituted by Chinese authorities against them;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has sought the forcible 
        repatriation of Uighur Muslims from foreign countries and detained some 
        of those who returned, leading many to seek asylum overseas on the 
        grounds of religious persecution;
Whereas, as part of the ongoing ``Three Illegals and One Item'' campaign, 
        international media has reported that authorities in Xinjiang continue 
        to confiscate Qurans and prayer rugs as illegal religious items;
Whereas Tibetan Buddhists, including those outside the Tibet Autonomous Region 
        (TAR), are prevented from worshiping the Dalai Lama openly, and 
        authorities treat those seen as loyal to the Dalai Lama as a separatist 
        threat;
Whereas authorities in China have evicted at least 11,500 monks and nuns from 
        Tibetan Buddhist institutes at Larung Gar and Yachen Gar since 2016;
Whereas Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists have reported severe societal 
        discrimination in employment, housing, and business opportunities;
Whereas the Chinese Communist Party maintains an extralegal, party-run security 
        apparatus to eliminate the Falun Gong movement and other such 
        organizations;
Whereas, in 2017, it was reported that Chinese authorities sentenced almost 
        1,000 practitioners to imprisonment for practicing Falun Dafa, and 42 
        practitioners died in custody or following release from prison due to 
        injuries sustained while in custody;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China does not recognize 
        Judaism as belonging to 1 of 5 state-sanctioned patriotic religious 
        associations, and therefore practitioners are not permitted to register 
        with the government and legally hold worship services or other religious 
        ceremonies and activities;
Whereas Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 
        1998 (Public Law 105-292), making it the official policy of the United 
        States ``to condemn violations of religious freedom, and to promote, and 
        to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right 
        to freedom of religion'' and to ``[stand] for liberty and [stand] with 
        the persecuted, to use and implement appropriate tools in the United 
        States foreign policy apparatus, including diplomatic, political, 
        commercial, charitable, educational, and cultural channels, to promote 
        respect for religious freedom by all governments and peoples'';
Whereas, under the International Religious Freedom Act, the United States 
        Commission on International Religious Freedom has designated China as a 
        ``country of particular concern'' every year since 1999;
Whereas Congress unanimously passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious 
        Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281) in 2016 to amend the International 
        Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to enhance the capabilities of the United 
        States to advance religious liberty globally through diplomacy, 
        training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance;
Whereas the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of 
        title XII of Public Law 114-328), passed by Congress in 2016, gives 
        authority to the President to impose targeted sanctions on individuals 
        responsible for committing human rights violations; and
Whereas the United States must show strong international leadership when it 
        comes to the advancement of religious freedoms, liberties, and 
        protections: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) strongly condemns the persecution of religious 
        minorities in the People's Republic of China and any actions 
        that limit their free expression and practice of faith;
            (2) reaffirms the commitment of the United States in 
        promoting religious freedom and tolerance around the world and 
        helping to provide protection and relief to religious 
        minorities facing persecution and violence;
            (3) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to uphold the Chinese Constitution in addition to the 
        internationally recognized human right to freedom from 
        religious persecution and to end all forms of violence and 
        discrimination against religious minorities;
            (4) strongly condemns the use of reeducation centers, 
        internment camps, and concentration camps as punishment for 
        religious practice and expression;
            (5) strongly condemns the restriction and censorship of 
        religious materials like the Bible, the Quran, and any other 
        religious articles or literature sacrosanct to religious 
        practice or expression; and
            (6) urges the President to take appropriate actions to 
        promote religious freedom of religious minorities in the 
        People's Republic of China, using the powers provided to the 
        President under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
        (Public Law 105-292), the Frank R. Wolf International Religious 
        Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281), and the Global Magnitsky 
        Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 
        Public Law 114-328).
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