Fighting for religious liberty should be central part of US-China ties: Grassley

Accusing China of massive human rights violation on its religious minorities, including the Muslims, Buddhists and Christians, a top American lawmaker said Thursday that fighting for religious liberty should be a central part of America's relationship with China.

The US doesn't have the singular authority to stop the religious persecution in China, but it can apply significant pressure to Chinese leaders by linking the need for religious freedom to the economic and political aspects of the bilateral relationship that are important to China, Senator Chuck Grassley said in an op-ed in Politico Magazine.

"As China's largest trading partner, the US is in a powerful position to influence Chinese leaders and stand up for human rights. Fighting for religious liberty should be a central part of the US' relationship with China," he asserted in his op-ed, which comes amidst reports of renewed efforts of religious prosecution of the minority Muslims in the country.

Disturbing reports have surfaced out of China of late detailing the imprisonment of Christian pastors, Bible burning and demolishing of Christian churches. The Chinese government has rounded up more than one million Uighur and Kazakh Muslims into indoctrination camps. The state has long suppressed the freedom of Tibetan Buddhists, as well as those who practice Falun Gong, he alleged.

Grassley is chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. Recently, he introduced a Senate resolution on China's religious prosecution.

The Chinese government has removed crosses from 1,200 to 1,700 Christian churches as of a 2016 New York Times report, and has instructed police officers to stop citizens from entering their places of worship, he said.

"There have been violent confrontations between government authorities and worshipers, and communist leaders have implemented restrictions prohibiting children 18 years old and younger from participating in religiously-focused education," Grassley said.

According to him, a piece published in Forbes earlier this year described how Chinese authorities have bulldozed homes belonging to Uighur Muslims, collected passports to restrict travel and collected Uighur DNA and fingerprints in order to track its own citizens.

Noting that communist leaders in China try to explain away these abuses by reiterating their commitment to preserving the Chinese culture, a practice known as Sinicization, he said approximately 100 million people in China belong to religious groups that are outside what the Chinese government deems acceptable.

"That's approximately 100 million people who are subject to persecution by communist leaders in China, and even those that practice an officially sanctioned religion have not been spared harassment. That persecution stems from religious differences and has spread to other areas of daily life, including the restriction of social media," Grassley added.