A new report from the US State Department sharply contrasts the degree of religious freedom in Taiwan and China.
While Taiwan is praised for respecting religious rights, the government of China is singled out for harassment of Tibetan Buddhists, house church Christians and Uighur Muslims.
“This report upholds the standard of the individual freedom of conscience and belief against political tyranny, cultural pressure and the all-too-common human fear of those who are different than ourselves,” said Congressman Chris Smith, a prominent human rights leader and original cosponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act.
“In China, the religious freedoms of Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and Falun Gong practitioners are systematically repressed with relative impunity despite the rise of China on the world stage and the high priority of US-Sino relations in American foreign policy,” he added.
