,,iv #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #dic ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #af1 #bjai,mrs4 ,hartzler 7for herself and ,ms4 ,speier7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,,resolution ,condemning the persecution of ,christians in ,china4 ,whereas1 according to the ,department of ,state1 there are an estimated #ab1jjj1jjj ,chinese ,catholics and #fj1jjj1jjj to #hj1jjj1jjj ,chinese ,protestants worshipping in both officially registered and unregistered churches in ,china2 ,whereas the activities of state-sanctioned religious organizations are regulated by the ,chinese ,communist ,party1 which manages all aspects of religious life2 ,whereas the practice of ,christianity is overseen by four major entities3 ,three-,self ,patriotic ,movement1 the ,china ,christian ,council1 the ,chinese ,patriotic ,catholic ,association1 and the ,bishops ,conference of ,catholic ,church in ,china2 ,whereas the ,chinese government is actively seeking to control1 govern1 and manipulate all aspects of faith through the ,sinicization of ,religion1 a process intended to shape religious traditions and doctrines so they conform with the objectives of the ,chinese government and ,communist ,party2 ,whereas1 on ,february #a1 #bjah1 the ,chinese government implemented new religious regulations that imposed restrictions on ,chinese contacts with overseas religious organizations1 required government approval for religious schools1 websites1 and any online religious services1 and effectively banned unauthorized religious gatherings and teachings2 ,whereas1 since ,february #a1 #bjah1 forced closures of churches1 arbitrary detention1 and arrests of unregistered ,christian clergy and practitioners have steadily increased2 ,whereas ,chinese authorities actively harass1 arrest1 interrogate1 and detain unregistered and registered ,christian clergy and practitioners2 ,whereas ,chinese authorities raid house churches and confiscate religious paraphernalia1 including crosses and bibles2 ,whereas1 according to the ,department of ,state1 churches experience increased restrictions and surveillance by the ,chinese government1 including efforts to install security cameras on church property2 ,whereas in ,zhejiang ,province1 home to one of ,china's largest ,christian populations1 crosses have been torn down from #a1bjj to #a1gjj churches since #bjae2 ,whereas1 as part of ,china's ,sinicization of ,religion campaign1 ,beijing's ,zion ,church was shut down as well as other unauthorized churches in ,henan1 ,jiangxi1 ,zhejiang1 ,guangdong1 ,liaoning1 and ,hebei ,provinces2 ,whereas while the ,holy ,see's recent deal with the ,chinese government reportedly provides a ,papal veto over ,catholic bishops nominated by the government-supported ,bishops ,conference and was intended to protect religious freedom1 persecution of ,chinese ,catholics has intensified and new restrictions on religious practice have been in place since the agreement was signed2 ,whereas a ,catholic church in ,xingjiang city of ,yining had its three crosses1 two bell towers1 and two statues demolished by authorities1 and religious features on the church's exterior walls and mosaics were covered with paint2 ,whereas two ,marian shrines were destroyed including the ,our ,lady of the ,seven ,sorrows in ,dongergo1 ,shanxi ,province1 and ,our ,lady of ,bliss in ,anlong1 ,guizhou ,province2 ,whereas1 in ,june of #bjai1 ,fujian ,province officials issued requirements requiring ,catholic priests to ban minors from church and education1 to stop relationships with foreign ,catholics1 to end any missionary efforts1 and to prohibit posting religious topics online2 ,whereas a ,chinese official in ,luoning county1 ,henan ,province1 recently erased the ,first ,commandment from a list of the ,ten ,commandments hanging on a wall inside a church2 ,whereas it has been reported that ,china is going to re-write and issue a version of the ,bible with the correct understanding of the text according to the government2 ,whereas ,chinese authorities have banned children and students from attending church services2 ,whereas1 in ,january #bjah1 ,chinese authorities destroyed the #ej1jjj-member ,linfen ,golden ,lampstand ,church2 ,whereas ,chinese authorities have attempted to remove crosses and replace them with the ,chinese flag and slogans praising the ,communist ,party and ,president ,xi ,jinping2 ,whereas state-sanctioned ,protestant churches have also faced property destruction1 cross removal1 and closure by ,chinese authorities2 ,whereas according to the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom1 more than #e1jjj ,christians and #a1jjj church leaders were arrested in #bjah because of their faith or religious practices2 ,whereas ,chinese authorities torture lawyers1 human rights defenders1 and other prisoners of conscience of all faiths2 ,whereas1 according to the ,department of ,state1 the ,chinese government has imprisoned thousands of individuals of all faiths for practicing their religious beliefs and often labels them as cults2 ,whereas1 as part of its crackdown1 the ,chinese government arbitrarily detained ,pastor ,wang ,yi of ,early ,rain ,covenant ,church along with numerous church members1 and blocked worshippers from entering the building2 ,whereas many ,early ,rain ,covenant ,church members were forced to renounce their faith and tortured in order to give confessions accusing ,pastor ,yi of making statements against the ,chinese ,communist ,party2 ,whereas ,pastor ,john ,cao1 a ,united ,states permanent resident from ,greensboro1 ,north ,carolina1 has been detained in a ,chinese prison since ,march #bjag for his humanitarian and missionary work in ,burma under contrived charges of organizing illegal border crossings2 ,whereas1 since #aiii1 the ,department of ,state has designated ,china as a country of particular concern under the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state has hosted ,ministerials to ,advance ,international ,religious ,freedom in #bjah and again in #bjai to engage like-minded allies to advance religious freedom protections globally1 including by protecting vulnerable religious minorities2 and ,whereas1 as the #bjag ,national ,security ,strategy of the ,united ,states explains1 we must seek to advance ,american influence by protecting religious freedom3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 reaffirms the commitment of the ,united ,states to promoting religious freedom in ,china and calls on the ,president and the ,secretary of ,state to strengthen ,united ,states religious freedom diplomacy on behalf of ,christians facing restrictions in ,china2 7#b7 calls on the ,president1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and the ,united ,states ,trade ,representative to ensure that trade negotiations include religious freedom conditions as mandated by the ,bipartisan ,congressional ,trade ,priorities and ,accountability ,act of #bjae 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #dbja et seq472 7#c7 encourages the ,president to use the authorities available under the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fdja et seq471 the ,frank ,wolf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #bjaf 7,public ,law #aad-bha2 #acj ,stat4 #adbf71 and the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjag2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note7 to address particularly severe religious freedom restrictions in ,china by holding ,chinese officials accountable for their complicity in egregious violations of internationally recognized human rights2 7#d7 calls on the ,president1 the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,ambassador at ,large for ,international ,religious ,freedom1 and ,members of ,congress to leverage the growing network of foreign international religious freedom focused institutions and parliamentary groups2 7#e7 urges the ,ambassador at ,large for ,international ,religious ,freedom to develop an action plan to creatively employ religious freedom programming2 7#f7 calls on the ,president and ,secretary of ,state to raise cases relating to religious or political prisoners at the highest levels with ,chinese officials1 such as the case of ,pastor ,wang ,yi of the ,early ,rain ,church1 because experience demonstrates that consistently raising prisoner cases can result in improved treatment1 reduced sentences1 or in some cases1 release from custody1 detention1 or imprisonment2 7#g7 encourages ,members of ,congress to adopt a prisoner of conscience in ,china through the ,lantos ,human ,rights ,commission's ,defending ,freedom ,project1 raise the case with ,chinese officials1 and work publicly for their release2 7#h7 calls on the ,chinese government to unconditionally release religious and political prisoners or1 at the very least1 ensure that detainees are treated humanely with access to family1 the lawyer of their choice1 independent medical care1 and the ability to practice their faith while in detention2 and 7#i7 encourages the global faith community to speak in solidarity with the persecuted ,christians in ,china4