US hits China on religious freedom, urges lawyer’s release

Washington—US Secretary of State John Kerry appealed last Wednesday for the release of a Chinese Christian human-rights lawyer detained ahead of a planned meeting with the top US envoy in late August. 

Kerry made the call for Zhang Kai’s release as the State Department released its annual International Religious Freedom Report, which criticizes Chinese restrictions on Christians, Muslim Uighurs and Tibetan Buddhists. But the department also cited instances where faith-based organizations in the country were able to flourish.

Zhang was detained the day before he was due to meet US religious freedom envoy David Saperstein — among 10 about activists from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, where authorities have taken down hundreds of crosses from churches. Saperstein said the whereabouts of Zhang and one or two of the others remain unknown.

“We have continued to ask questions, we will continue on this, and we hope we will get answers,” Saperstein told a news conference at the launch of the global report.

Among other Asian countries, the report highlighted restrictions on Rohingya Muslims and Christians in Myanmar, and the anti-Muslim sermonizing of hardline Buddhists there.

It cited a failure of the Myanmar government to allow a credible investigation of the January 2014 killings of dozens of Rohingya who were allegedly killed by security forces in retaliation for the death of a police officer.

Both Myanmar and China have, since 1999, been designated by the US as countries of particular concern for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.

On China, Saperstein said there are encouraging signs that are side-by-side deeply discouraging ones.

“During my visit in August, I found that, despite widespread continuing government abuses and restrictions, many place of worship were, nonetheless, full and flourishing. In areas of the country where the government’s hand was lighter, faith-based social service and welfare agencies operate homeless shelters, orphanages, soup kitchens, and made highly positive contributions to the well-being of their society,” Saperstein said.

“We’ve urged the Chinese government to use that as a model of what can work nationwide. But far more often, restrictive policies still stifle religious life,” he said.

The report says that religious practice by Uighurs and Tibetans is often equated with separatist or extremist tendencies. AP