U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) has published an opinion piece in The Hill, calling for the United States to impose sanctions on Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for religious persecution. Budd’s op-ed comes after what he describes as the largest crackdown on practicing Christians in China since 2018.
In his article, Budd points to recent detentions of Christian leaders in China, including pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and others from underground churches. He also references previous cases such as Pastor Zhang Shaojie, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2014, and Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church, who received a nine-year sentence. Budd notes that John Cao, an American pastor from North Carolina, was released from prison in September 2024 but is reportedly not allowed to leave China.
Budd argues that these incidents are part of a broader pattern of repression: “The Chinese Communist Party has codified its war on religious freedom into law. Under Article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code, individuals who practice outside the five state-sanctioned religions — Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam — can face life imprisonment. Despite these laws, the Chinese Communist Party has led calculated attacks on Protestant Christians, Tibetans, Uyghur Muslims, and Catholics.”
He further states: “Religious minorities — specifically Falun Gong practitioners and the Uyghurs — have reportedly been victimized by forced sterilizations, sexual violence, torture, and slave labor. Houses of worship across China have been shut down, and the Chinese Communist Party has sought to erase sacred traditions from Chinese culture.”
Budd calls for stronger action from the U.S., noting: “The U.S. has denounced China’s persecution of people of faith, but now we must strengthen our charge to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its crimes.”
He highlights that this call coincides with the anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act and mentions ongoing efforts by both the State Department and U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to monitor violations globally.
“In the U.S. Senate,” Budd writes,“I’ve reintroduced the Combating the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act to hold Chinese Communist Party officials accountable for their repeated record of brutality toward religious minorities. Any Chinese official who is responsible for or has directly carried out abuses against religious groups must face strict U.S. sanctions.”
Budd also stresses support for continued designation of China as a country of particular concern if such acts persist: “My legislation would bolster our State Department programs designed to combat religious persecution while also signaling strong support for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue designating China as a country of particular concern if its acts of religious persecution continue.”
He concludes: “Now more than ever, our government must play a key role in monitoring and addressing China’s persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. The time to end China’s calculated assault on religious freedom is now.”
