WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged President Bush to speak out against China’s increased persecution of Christians.
The request from the nine-member panel, which is selected by the president and congressional leaders, came as Bush prepares for a trip to Beijing in February. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is a member of the commission.
The crackdown on members of unregistered churches has increased since the United States granted permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to the communist giant, Young wrote. China waited until three days after Bush signed the PNTR agreement Dec. 27 to announce Gong’s death sentence, which had been issued earlier, the chairman said.
Chinese policy requires churches to register with the government. The acts the commission cited are part of a crackdown “on religious believers who are outside of China’s state-controlled religious organizations,” Young said in the Jan. 15 letter.
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