(USA – March 9, 2026) Dr. Bob Fu, a former student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement and later a pastor of a Chinese underground church, joined Jan Jekielek, senior editor with The Epoch Times, on American Thought Leaders to discuss the escalating crisis of religious freedom in China. During the interview, he provided an in-depth analysis of the grim reality of religious persecution in China over the past few years and discussed an ongoing transnational human rights litigation in a U.S. court.
Pastor Bob Fu was imprisoned in Beijing in 1996 for “preaching the gospel” before going into exile in the United States and founding the Christian human rights organization China Aid. The organization has long been dedicated to documenting cases of persecution, providing legal aid, and advocating for religious freedom in China on a global scale.
During the program, Pastor Fu pointed out that the suppression of religious belief in China is continuously escalating. He mentioned that the CCP leadership is attempting to emulate the “Five Black Categories” policy of the Mao Zedong era, targeting house churches as new subjects for suppression after 2012, aiming to destroy the public’s positive perception of Christians.
“Xi Jinping wants to play God,” Pastor Fu stated. “The Communist Party treats these people as a threat to the regime’s existence. The goal is to eradicate Christian faith from the map of China.” He emphasized that this “dehumanizing” treatment is intended to undermine the dignity of believers’ personalities, thereby justifying harsher means of suppression.
The interview concluded with a discussion of the high-profile Cisco litigation. The case involves allegations that Cisco Systems provided technical assistance to the CCP to monitor and persecute practitioners. Currently, Cisco is seeking a dismissal of the charges in court, but the case has advanced to the relevant legal phases.
Pastor Fu believes the ruling in this case will have far-reaching implications and could become an important milestone in holding multinational corporations accountable for condoning or participating in human rights violations. This is not only a legal battle but also a major test of U.S. companies’ fulfillment of social responsibility and moral bottom lines overseas.
