(Washington, D.C. – March 26, 2025) On March 25, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report, documenting religious freedom cases in 2024 and providing policy recommendations to the White House, Congress, and the State Department on promoting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad. Congress authorized USCIRF to submit its annual report under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). This year’s report once again strongly recommends that the U.S. State Department designate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), a classification representing the most severe violations of religious freedom.
China’s religious freedom among “the worst in the world”
The report highlights that China’s religious freedom conditions remained among the worst in the world in 2024. Out of more than 2,300 individuals detained or imprisoned globally for their religion or belief, China had the highest number of victims, totaling 810. Alarmingly, around 230 victims’ status are unknown, 47 have been released, while over 500 remain in custody.
Chinese authorities’ oppression against Catholicism and Protestantism
The report states that Chinese authorities detained, forcibly disappeared, or refused to disclose the whereabouts of underground Catholic clergy who declined to join the state-controlled Catholic organization. Independent house church Protestants faced similar retaliation, with police raiding house churches, harassing, detaining, fining, and imprisoning members for refusing to join the government-sanctioned Protestant organization, often under fabricated charges such as “fraud” and “subversion.” In January, a court unjustly sentenced Protestant pastor Kan Xiaoyong to 14 years in prison.
Chinese authorities’ oppression against Tibetans and Uyghurs
The report highlights the severe religious repression in Tibet. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its crackdown on Tibetan religious activities, including prohibiting a monastery in Chamdo from accepting new monks and banning Lhasa residents from participating in religious activities during Saga Dawa. Additionally, Tibetan residents in Sichuan province have been forcibly ordered to remove religious symbols from outside their homes.
Furthermore, the CCP has shut down schools within Tibetan monasteries and forcibly sent Tibetan students to government-run boarding schools for cultural assimilation. Tibetans who openly or privately mention His Holiness the Dalai Lama face arrest and imprisonment.
The report also reveals that the CCP has used threats against the relatives of exiled Tibetans and Uyghurs to conduct surveillance, extortion, and intimidation within China, effectively silencing them and preventing them from speaking out.
China’s “sinicization of religion” and infringement on human rights
In its long-term assessment of China, the report states that under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Chinese government has consistently pursued its policy of “Sinicization of religion,” demanding absolute loyalty from all religious groups to the Chinese Communist Party and its ideology. Over the past year, there has been no improvement in China’s religious freedom conditions, which remain among the worst in the world.
Additionally, the report notes that the Chinese authorities employ advanced high-tech surveillance methods to suppress religious freedom and silence any criticism of China’s violations of religious freedom and human rights. China also actively engages in transnational repression, spreads disinformation, and attempts to block international criticism of its religious freedom record.
Recommendations from the USCIRF report
The report recommends that the U.S. government: Collaborate with international partners to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom, including those involved in transnational repression against religious minorities and Chinese Communist Party officials interfering in the Dalai Lama’s succession process.
Work with like-minded partners to address China’s use of technology to violate religious freedom, establish binding multilateral export controls, counter China’s economic coercion, reduce reliance on China in economic and trade matters, and diversify supply chains. Develop regulations on the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, such as genetic sequencing and data collection.
In this year’s report, in addition to China, the countries that have been redesignated as “Countries of Particular Concern” include Myanmar, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Additionally, Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Vietnam have been newly added to the list.
The report highlights the urgent issue of global religious freedom and calls on the international community to increase its attention and impose stronger sanctions on countries that severely violate religious freedom.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)
