Rejects State Department Report by “Imperfect” United States

China responded to the criticism put forth by the United States in which the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that China does not practice complete religious freedom. According to the report from State Department, Saudi Arabia and China use discriminatory laws that deny the citizens freedom of beliefs and religion. The report continued to state that no individual is expected to live in fear of worship to the extent that they consider practicing their religion in secret.



China has physically abused and put to prison some Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, and other unfortunate minorities based on their religious beliefs. China was quick to respond that the US is not perfect either and that a lot of facts are ignored in the reports. While they claim that there are a lot of errors in the US reports, a Christian pastor was buried alive for simply standing out against officials who wanted to demolish his church. Three Tibetans were also reported to have died after setting themselves on fire in a protest against religious discrimination. In the same note, Saudi Arabia charged people for insulting Islam and practicing sorcery or non-Islamic worship.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the US should not misuse religious freedom by pretending to be of help yet in the actual sense is interference to other countries’ business. She continued to say that the US should manage its affairs and leave other nations to deal with their internal affairs. The Chinese termed these religious reports as political bigotry and that the government is only against certain groups of people who conceal their criminal activities in the name of practicing religion. One news agency reported that the recent violence in Virginia that led to the death of an individual is a classic example of the double standard that the US practices.

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