US lawmakers confront China's brutal war on faith with tough sanctions bill

Washington DC [US], October 29 (ANI): In a decisive move against China's human rights abuses, US lawmakers have introduced a bicameral bill to sanction Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials involved in the persecution of religious minorities, as reported by The Epoch Times.

According to The Epoch Times, Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Representative Mark Alford (R-Mo.) jointly unveiled the Combatting the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act on International Religious Freedom Day. The legislation seeks to hold Beijing accountable for decades of repression targeting Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and followers of Falun Gong.

"China's contempt for religious liberty is relentless. The US must confront this brutality with firm resolve," Budd stated. The timing of the bill follows the Chinese regime's raid on Zion Church, one of the nation's largest unregistered Christian congregations, where around 30 pastors and worshippers were detained earlier this month. Senator Budd called the crackdown "further proof of the CCP's coordinated persecution of religious believers.

If enacted, the law would impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials who engage in or oversee abuses such as torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour, and forced sterilisation. It also reinforces the US State Department's efforts to safeguard persecuted believers in China. The CCP's suppression of Falun Gong, which began in 1999, remains one of the world's most severe religious crackdowns.

Between 70 million and 100 million adherents were practising before the ban, and millions have since been imprisoned or tortured, as cited by The Epoch Times.

The bill was co-sponsored by several lawmakers. Representative Alford condemned the CCP's "heinous violations of faith and humanity," urging Washington to "stand firmly for religious freedom." The legislation also urges Congress to maintain China's designation as a "country of particular concern" and to demand the unconditional release of all detained religious and political prisoners, as reported by The Epoch Times. (ANI)

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