,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #ffg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #d1 #bjah ,mr4 ,perdue 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,cruz1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,condemning persecution of religious minorities in the ,people's ,republic of ,china and any actions that limit their free expression and practice of faith4 ,whereas ,article #ah of the ,universal ,declaration of ,human ,rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought1 conscience and religion2 this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief1 and freedom1 either alone or in community with others and in public or private1 to manifest his religion or belief in teaching1 practice1 worship and observance2 ,whereas ,article #cf of the ,constitution of the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 of #aihb states1 ,citizens of the ,people's ,republic of ,china enjoy freedom of religious belief4 ,no state organ1 public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in1 or not to believe in1 any religion2 nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in1 any religion42 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,government estimates there are #feh1jjj1jjj religious believers in ,china1 including #bea1jjj1jjj ,buddhists1 #gj1jjj1jjj ,christians1 #be1jjj1jjj ,muslims1 #cjb1jjj1jjj observers of folk religions1 and #aj1jjj1jjj observers of other faiths1 including ,taoism2 ,whereas many members of religious minority groups in ,china1 including ,uighurs1 ,hui1 and ,kazakh ,muslims2 ,tibetan ,buddhists2 ,catholics2 ,protestants2 and ,falun ,gong1 face severe repression and discrimination because of their beliefs2 ,whereas ,freedom ,house has labeled persecution of ,protestants in the ,people's ,republic of ,china as high on its spectrum of religious persecution2 ,whereas government regulations in ,china require religious groups to register with the government through state-sanctioned patriotic religious associations1 which regularly review sermons and require church leaders to attend education sessions with religious bureau officials2 ,whereas authorities continue to arrest and harass ,christians in ,zhejiang ,province1 including by requiring ,christian churches to install surveillance cameras to enable daily police monitoring of their activities2 ,whereas there is an ongoing campaign by the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to remove crosses and demolish churches2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china considers several ,christian groups to be evil cults2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china restricts religious education in institutions across the country1 including the ability of ,muslims and ,christians to speak about their faith among university students1 as well as strictly banning meetings of student religious organizations2 ,whereas national printing regulations restrict the publication and distribution of literature with religious content1 allowing for religious texts published without authorization1 including ,bibles and ,qurans1 to be confiscated1 and unauthorized publishing houses1 closed2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china limits distribution of ,bibles to patriotic religious association entities1 and because individuals cannot order ,bibles directly from publishing houses1 unregistered churches have reported that the supply and distribution of ,bibles is inadequate2 ,whereas authorities in ,china continue to limit the number of ,christian titles that can be published annually1 with draft manuscripts closely reviewed2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china continues to cite concerns over the three evils of ethnic separatism1 religious extremism1 and violent terrorism as grounds to enact and enforce restrictions on religious practices of ,muslims in the ,xinjiang ,uighur ,autonomous ,region 7,,xuar71 including ,uighurs1 ,kazakhs1 ,kyrgyz1 ,hui1 and ,tajiks2 ,whereas it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of ,uighur ,muslims and members of other ,muslim minority groups have been forcibly sent to reeducation centers1 and extensive and invasive security and surveillance practices have been instituted by ,chinese authorities against them2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china has sought the forcible repatriation of ,uighur ,muslims from foreign countries and detained some of those who returned1 leading many to seek asylum overseas on the grounds of religious persecution2 ,whereas1 as part of the ongoing ,three ,illegals and ,one ,item campaign1 international media has reported that authorities in ,xinjiang continue to confiscate ,qurans and prayer rugs as illegal religious items2 ,whereas ,tibetan ,buddhists1 including those outside the ,tibet ,autonomous ,region 7,,tar71 are prevented from worshiping the ,dalai ,lama openly1 and authorities treat those seen as loyal to the ,dalai ,lama as a separatist threat2 ,whereas authorities in ,china have evicted at least #aa1ejj monks and nuns from ,tibetan ,buddhist institutes at ,larung ,gar and ,yachen ,gar since #bjaf2 ,whereas ,uighur ,muslims and ,tibetan ,buddhists have reported severe societal discrimination in employment1 housing1 and business opportunities2 ,whereas the ,chinese ,communist ,party maintains an extralegal1 party-run security apparatus to eliminate the ,falun ,gong movement and other such organizations2 ,whereas1 in #bjag1 it was reported that ,chinese authorities sentenced almost #a1jjj practitioners to imprisonment for practicing ,falun ,dafa1 and #db practitioners died in custody or following release from prison due to injuries sustained while in custody2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china does not recognize ,judaism as belonging to #a of #e state-sanctioned patriotic religious associations1 and therefore practitioners are not permitted to register with the government and legally hold worship services or other religious ceremonies and activities2 ,whereas ,congress unanimously passed the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7,public ,law #aje-bib71 making it the official policy of the ,united ,states to condemn violations of religious freedom1 and to promote1 and to assist other governments in the promotion of1 the fundamental right to freedom of religion and to stand for liberty and stand with the persecuted1 to use and implement appropriate tools in the ,united ,states foreign policy apparatus1 including diplomatic1 political1 commercial1 charitable1 educational1 and cultural channels1 to promote respect for religious freedom by all governments and peoples2 ,whereas1 under the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act1 the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom has designated ,china as a country of particular concern every year since #aiii2 ,whereas ,congress unanimously passed the ,frank ,r4 ,wolf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act 7,public ,law #aad-bha7 in #bjaf to amend the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih to enhance the capabilities of the ,united ,states to advance religious liberty globally through diplomacy1 training1 counterterrorism1 and foreign assistance2 ,whereas the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh71 passed by ,congress in #bjaf1 gives authority to the ,president to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for committing human rights violations2 and ,whereas the ,united ,states must show strong international leadership when it comes to the advancement of religious freedoms1 liberties1 and protections3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 strongly condemns the persecution of religious minorities in the ,people's ,republic of ,china and any actions that limit their free expression and practice of faith2 7#b7 reaffirms the commitment of the ,united ,states in promoting religious freedom and tolerance around the world and helping to provide protection and relief to religious minorities facing persecution and violence2 7#c7 calls on the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to uphold the ,chinese ,constitution in addition to the internationally recognized human right to freedom from religious persecution and to end all forms of violence and discrimination against religious minorities2 7#d7 strongly condemns the use of reeducation centers1 internment camps1 and concentration camps as punishment for religious practice and expression2 7#e7 strongly condemns the restriction and censorship of religious materials like the ,bible1 the ,quran1 and any other religious articles or literature sacrosanct to religious practice or expression2 and 7#f7 urges the ,president to take appropriate actions to promote religious freedom of religious minorities in the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 using the powers provided to the ,president under the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7,public ,law #aje-bib71 the ,frank ,r4 ,wolf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act 7,public ,law #aad-bha71 and the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh74