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WASHINGTON, D.C., – Today, Vice President Mike Pence warned of the grave threat China poses to the United States and, indeed, to the freedom of the entire world. Speaking at the Hudson Institute, the Vice President focused his remarks on China’s efforts to interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States among other matters. Vice President Pence observed:
“When American missionaries brought the good news to China’s shores, they were moved by the rich culture of an ancient but vibrant people, and not only did they spread faith; they also founded some of China’s first and finest universities…” Over the years, we had the “hope that freedom in China would expand in all forms – not just economically, but politically, with a newfound respect for classical liberal principles, private property, religious freedom, and the entire family of human rights… but that hope has gone unfulfilled.”
He also noted, “For a time, Beijing inched toward greater liberty and respect for human rights, but in recent years, it has taken a sharp U-turn toward control and oppression. . . .” Despite these developments, Vice President Pence concluded on a hopeful note and extended a hand, noting that “by God’s grace, America and China will meet that future together.”
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who also serves on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, offered the following comments:
“No doubt China does not like the Trump administration’s necessarily tough stance on a number of issues. Yet as the Vice President observed today, China has been an inexcusable violator of religious freedom.
“The Chinese government can’t stand the idea of a power to which its people owe a higher allegiance, and thus it severely represses religious freedom. Yet as Christians, we know that we must always honor God above men. This is why we advocate for the freedom of everyone to worship God as they see fit, and to freely live out their beliefs.
“I commend the Trump administration’s focus on the threat China poses to freedom. Whether through tearing apart Uighur families and indoctrinating them in internment camps, or its prosecution of Christians like Pastor John Cao, who simply sought to build schools and care for the Chinese people, China needs to be taken to task for its intolerable violation of religious freedom in these modern times,” concluded Perkins.
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