(U.S./Taiwan – February 25, 2025) The Fifth International Religious Freedom Summit was held in Washington, D.C., on February 4–5. On February 6, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a hearing and publicized the latest list of victims around the world who have been imprisoned or persecuted for exercising their religious freedom. This list, known as the “Frank R. Wolf Religious Freedom or Belief Victims List,” is named in honor of retired U.S. Congressman Frank R. Wolf, a dedicated advocate for human rights.
The hearing took place in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building and was chaired by USCIRF Commissioner Maureen Ferguson. Speakers included former prisoners of conscience and their advocates from Ukraine, Pakistan, Yemen, Myanmar, China, and other countries. They recounted their experiences as victims of religious persecution and highlighted the role of advocacy in supporting victims and survivors. They discussed how to elevate religious freedom as a higher priority in U.S. foreign policy and strengthen U.S. support for individuals persecuted abroad due to their religion or beliefs.
Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, attended the hearing as a witness and later met with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz to discuss issues of religious freedom in China.
On the same day, President Donald Trump announced at the National Prayer Breakfast that he would establish a “Faith Office” at the White House. He directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force dedicated to protecting religious freedom. President Trump stated that he was serious about bringing the Bible into the White House, what he said is true, he started doing so, he said we have not forgotten God and is using this to serve as a reminder that God will always be in the White House.
Pastor Bob Fu was invited as a guest to participate in three intensive events in Washington, D.C., this February. Recently, he was interviewed by a host of a renowned program — “Serving the People” on Radio Taiwan International. The interview this time round focuses on USCIRF’s publication of the list of persecuted individuals from various countries and the planned use of the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction perpetrators. ChinaAid has transcribed the interview for further dissemination.
Full Interview Transcript:
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
Today, on the “Serving the People” segment — Bearing Witness For Justice, our guest is Pastor Bob Fu, chairman of ChinaAid. We invite Pastor Fu to introduce the circumstances of this hearing.
Pastor Fu, the two conferences in Washington this year are highly significant. One of them announced the latest list of individuals around the world who have been imprisoned or persecuted for exercising their religious freedom, which is the “Frank R. Wolf Religious Freedom or Belief Victims List.” Could you please introduce the content of this list?
Pastor Bob Fu:
The “Frank R. Wolf Religious Freedom or Belief Victims List” is named after former Congressman Frank Wolf, who has long been dedicated to international religious freedom and human rights. The U.S. International Religious Freedom Act was later renamed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act. He was the principal drafter of the original legislation, which was signed into law in 1998, establishing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department, where an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is appointed by the U.S. President.
This time, the list of prisoners of conscience was specially released, and victim representatives from seven countries suffering severe religious persecution were invited to testify. I primarily spoke about the situation of Chinese prisoners of conscience, while there were also those from Ukraine, Nigeria, Pakistan, Myanmar, Eritrea, and other countries.
USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck personally presided over the hearing this time round. Former Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, appointed by U.S. House Speaker James Michael Johnson, introduced the speakers. Additionally, three other commissioners attended, and a special panel discussion was held. This session featured the director of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, as well as a former British MP who serves as an advisor to the International Religious Freedom Alliance, to provide an overarching analysis of the global situation.
Besides that, a key highlight of this hearing was that for the first time, not only were victims and prisoners of conscience listed, but the perpetrators of religious persecution were also added to the list. As for the perpetrators themselves, the USCIRF will follow a new policy direction, hoping that by publicly releasing the names and current locations of some of the perpetrators and victims, then push for sanctions against them by the U.S. and other nations; this should be a new, unique direction.
Of course, I myself was a victim of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party. I was once imprisoned in Beijing because of my Christian faith and service in the church. However, more importantly, I hope to bring attention to the ongoing religious war launched by Xi Jinping and highlight some of the representative prisoners of conscience in China.
These include individuals from Protestant and Catholic communities, as well as Uyghurs, Tibetans, and prominent human rights and civil rights lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng and Dr. Wang Bingzhang. Additionally, I mentioned Pastor Wang Yi and Sister Wang Honglan. Their names were read aloud from the list to draw attention from the international society. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the new Trump administration are working closely together to push for the release of these prisoners of conscience.
Under Xi Jinping’s rule in recent years, a quick glance will tell that China probably imprisons more people for religious freedom than all other countries in the world combined—by an immeasurable multiple. The reality of the CCP’s religious persecution should be exposed to the world, and the CCP should be made an international pariah, condemned by all.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
This hearing was held at the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building and was chaired by USCIRF member Maureen Ferguson. Speakers included former prisoners of conscience and their advocates from Ukraine, Pakistan, Yemen, Myanmar, and China. How was the situation (in other countries)?
Pastor Bob Fu:
From the testimonies from other countries, we can see that their religious persecution is also very brutal, of course, with many different religions. In Pakistan, for example, so-called blasphemy laws serve as a catch-all charge to brutally persecute believers of other religious beliefs using Islamic religious laws. The Eritrean government severely persecutes Christians. In Ukraine, there appeared to be instances where Orthodox Christians have been accused of being spies, and Orthodox churches have been banned by the Ukrainian government. This is tied to historical and political factors as well as the ongoing war, but severe incidents have indeed occurred. In Myanmar, the speaker condemned the military government for failing to stop religious persecution. The persecution of Muslims in Rwanda has been classified by the United Nations as genocide. In Yemen, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses are persecuted, claiming that they are a new Protestant heresy group. While they are recognized as a religious group in the U.S. and other countries, they are strictly banned in Yemen.
Basically, we can observe that in the overall global state of religious persecution, the situation remains extremely severe. In China, we can see that religious persecution under Xi Jinping has reached an unprecedented level in history. Communist Party ideology dominates, enforcing the “Sinicization” of all religions, which in reality means transforming religions into communist ideological tools. Any religious group that does not conform to communist ideology is ruthlessly eradicated. In ethnic minority regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet, in addition to religious persecution, policies of cultural and ethnic genocide are being implemented. The number of wrongful convictions is likely in the millions, with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of prisoners of conscience detained by the CCP.
I believe that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is officially raising this issue. From the perspective of global religious freedom advocacy, applying the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to sanction these perpetrators is crucial. Their crimes must be exposed, and a list of evil-doers must be created. I think this is a major advancement and a new step forward.
You just mentioned at the annual National Prayer Breakfast this time, President Trump personally attended the event at the Hilton Hotel, meeting with over 2,500 distinguished guests from around the world. President Biden had canceled this tradition in the past two years, choosing instead to meet only with U.S. congressional members privately, excluding VIP guests from other countries, including heads of state and foreign lawmakers, who remained at the Hilton Hotel. This breaks from the original tradition.
President Trump made a last-minute decision he believes was not good at the opening, saying that he was initially told to join the breakfast via Skype. He said how can you have breakfast over Skype? And insisted on being there in person for it to truly count as breakfast.
During his speech, he announced two major policy initiatives. One was the establishment of a White House Presidential Commission on Religious Freedom to oversee federal policies, particularly addressing reverse discrimination; discrimination against Christians has been everywhere, and the practice of these policies was exacerbated under the Biden administration, which was to specifically marginalize and target Christians, including Catholics.
In the days before, which was after he took office, President Trump pardoned 26 Christians who had been sentenced simply for praying outside abortion clinics or on the streets. Some were sentenced to seven and a half years in prison; this was completely peaceful, including a woman in her 70s who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. President Trump pardoned all of them.
Meanwhile, under the Biden administration, the Justice Department had labeled parents who attended school board meetings to oppose forced gender transitions for children, DEI, and extremist policies as “domestic terrorists.” The FBI was even ordered to form a special task force to target and suppress these parents. This has now been revoked.
Currently, both the Department of Justice and the FBI are undergoing internal reviews and reassessments. There are many elements of religious discrimination within these policies, especially in the form of reverse discrimination against Christians. President Trump’s establishment of a White House Faith Office and a Presidential Commission on Religious Freedom within the White House itself is highly significant in my opinion.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
What will the operations at the White House Faith Office look like? Because the State Department already has an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, along with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Now, with the addition of the new Faith Office, what is the division of labor like?
Pastor Bob Fu:
Structurally, like the Faith Office, have actually existed since President George W. Bush’s administration. Back then, it was not called the Faith Office but rather the “Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.” This policy hoped to allow faith communities to play an active role in influencing society at the local level. President Trump has always surrounded himself with prominent church leaders and megachurch pastors who regularly go to pray for him.
This time, however, I think he is more serious than ever. At the National Prayer Breakfast, his speech was deeply moving. He said, “It was God that saved me.” Trump believes that God has given him a great mission and that’s why his assassination was unsuccessful. He now appears to have a more mature and profound faith in Christ.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
He also mentioned that, as a result, his son has now come to believe in God.
Pastor Bob Fu:
He mentioned that his son said that without God, this would have been impossible. Without God’s direct intervention and protection, there is no reasonable explanation. I want this (faith) Office to mobilize efforts nationwide, particularly harnessing the strength of Christian faith to make America great again.
America was founded on the vision of being a “City upon a Hill” (Matthew 5:14). This city is meant to shine its light. If it ceases to shine or is extinguished, the city on the hill will no longer exist.
These kinds of extreme leftist ideologies are constantly challenging things, pushing faith and religion out of the public square and replacing it with atheistic secularism as their new belief system. Over the past 50 years, this has led to a dramatic moral and societal decline in America. This initiative is not a minor issue—Trump’s push for the Faith Office carries deeper meaning. The “Presidential Commission on Religious Freedom” should serve as a guiding force.
From a policy perspective, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is established within Congress and the State Department’s administrative framework. The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom serves a policy-oriented role, assessing global religious freedom conditions and submitting policy recommendations to the President on how to advance international religious freedom.
The establishment of a Religious Freedom Commission within the White House appears to go beyond just addressing international religious freedom—it also encompasses religious freedom within the United States, particularly the infringement of the religious rights of Christians in America. Many Christians have personally experienced it; it is a systematic infringement evident in policies and practices across various U.S. government agencies. President Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to specifically investigate and identify measures that discriminate against Christians, ensuring they are corrected. I believe this represents a significant step in restoring America’s cultural foundation.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
The establishment of this Faith Office actively signals that he will attend the National Prayer Breakfast every year, as he has already announced. It seems that next year’s International Religious Freedom Summit and the National Prayer Breakfast, both held in the first week of February, will become the world heading towards religious freedom and the strengthening of beliefs. It will be a very important message, do you think these messages are related to the numerous actions he is currently taking in his administration?
This includes regions like Panama, Greenland, and the Middle East, where there seems to be a revival of freedom — The Freedom Revival Movement! President Trump is actually a man of his word — how do you think this specific perspective will impact China’s Xi Jinping?
Pastor Bob Fu:
I think Xi Jinping has not yet reacted. He better organize people and establish a Bible study group and thoroughly study the Bible. I remember that when China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs learned that U.S. President George W. Bush was an evangelical Christian; they once specifically established a Communist Party-led Bible study group within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to counter Bush’s policies.
During President Trump’s past four years in office—essentially an eight-year presidency—he, his family, and many others who upheld basic religious freedom were subjected to severe judicial weaponization and persecution. Even the First Lady’s most private wardrobe was searched piece by piece by the FBI, which was a profound humiliation. In this sense, Trump’s comeback this time round, (the) greatest comeback, can be said that this comeback is a comeback after enduring persecution. If he had won in 2020, even a re-election at that time might not have been as profound as this one.
This comeback carries overwhelming public support. Just yesterday, a CBS poll highlighted that 70% of voters viewed Trump’s first 20 days in office very positively. This approval rating is massive and transcends party lines, showing that people believe Trump will do what he says. His executive orders and actions within three weeks have really surpassed the combined actions of Obama’s eight years and Biden’s four years. His presidency has brought a new atmosphere to the United States, restoring public confidence—both economically and in dealing with terrorists. You can see that Hamas and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have all pulled back, and Mexico immediately deployed 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in support of Trump’s border policies.
The crackdown on fentanyl drugs and the illegal immigrants entering the U.S. through the border has reduced the number of illegal immigrants entering through the U.S.-Mexico border to 300, compared to 12 million over the four years of Biden’s term. If this continues for another four years, the U.S. will no longer be the same—it will completely collapse.
I believe this is the reason why American voters chose him. The so-called “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), men transitioning to women and going to compete in women’s programs and women’s sports — he has corrected and banned these. These are common sense. He said that he is not taking extreme measures; it is purely a matter of common sense. The past four years in the U.S., including Obama’s four years, have lost common sense, promoting extreme ideologies and movements similar to the Cultural Revolution. The greatness of America is not just greatness in economics; it’s a second cultural revival that will lead the world.
Musk is currently fighting against corruption and waste. He has only hired 16 young engineers, aged 18 to 22, these young people work 17 hours a day, sleeping in the office to audit federal departments, especially the corrupt USAID. (This agency) has been exporting corrupt ideologies worldwide, pushing DEI and transgender policies, even in Afghanistan and Taiwan.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
Including Taiwan, they found Taiwan’s list.
Pastor Bob Fu:
Some minor officials from Taiwan have strongly joined these extreme movements. This is a very grand narrative.
Mr. Yang Xianhong:
Today, we thank Pastor Bob Fu, the president of the ChinaAid Association, for explaining this incredibly important and epoch-making message. In Trump’s world, this is rapidly becoming the mainstream of the world. Thank you, Pastor Fu.
Pastor Bob Fu:
Thank you Mr. Yang.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)
