#aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dhba ,,an ,,act ,to hold accountable senior officials of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china who are responsible for or have directly carried out1 at any time1 persecution of ,christians or other religious minorities in ,china1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,combating the ,persecution of ,religious ,groups in ,china ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,according to the ,department of ,state's ,international ,religious ,freedom 7,,irf7 report estimates1 ,buddhists comprise #ah4b percent of the country's total population1 ,christians1 #e4a percent1 ,muslims1 #a4h percent1 followers of folk religions1 #ba4i percent1 and atheists or unaffiliated persons1 #eb4b percent1 with ,hindus1 ,jews1 and ,taoists comprising less than one percent4 7#b7 ,the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 recognizes five official religions1 ,buddhism1 ,taoism1 ,islam1 ,protestantism1 and ,catholicism 7according to the ,state ,department's ,,irf report7 and only religious groups belonging to one of the five sanctioned patriotic religious associations representing these religions are permitted to register with the government and hold worship service1 excluding all other faiths and denying the ability to worship without being registered with the government4 7#c7 ,the activities of state-sanctioned religious organizations are regulated by the ,chinese ,communist ,party1 which manages all aspects of religious life4 7#d7 ,the ,chinese ,communist ,party 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 ,communist ,party4 7#e7 ,on ,february #a1 #bjah1 the ,,prc ,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 service1 and effectively banned unauthorized religious gatherings and teachings4 7#f7 ,there are numerous reports that authorities forced closures of ,buddhist1 ,christian1 ,islamic1 and ,taoist houses of worship and destroyed public displays of religious symbols throughout the country4 7#g7 ,authorities arrested and detained religious leaders trying to hold services online4 7#h7 ,there are credible reports of ,chinese authorities raiding house churches and other places of religious worship1 removing and confiscating religious paraphernalia1 installing surveillance cameras on religious property1 pressuring congregations to sing songs of the ,chinese ,communist ,party and display the national flag during worship1 forcing churches to replace images of ,jesus ,christ or the ,virgin ,mary with pictures of ,general ,secretary ,xi ,jinping1 and banning children and students from attending religious services4 7#i7 ,it has been reported that the ,,prc is rewriting and will issue a version of the ,bible with the correct understanding of the text according to the ,chinese ,communist ,party4 ,authorities continued to restrict the printing and distribution of the ,bible1 ,quran1 and other religious literature1 and penalized publishing and copying businesses that handled religious materials4 7#aj7 ,according to the ,department of ,state's ,,irf reports1 the ,,prc ,government has imprisoned thousands of individuals of all faiths for practicing their religious beliefs and often labels them as cults4 7#aa7 ,the ,political ,prisoner ,database maintained by the human rights ,,ngo ,dui ,hua ,foundation counted #c1dib individuals imprisoned for organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law4 ,prisoners include-- 7,a7 the #aath ,panchen ,lama1 ,gedun ,choekyi ,nyima1 who has been held captive along with his parents since ,may #ag1 #aiie2 7,b7 ,pastor ,zhang ,shaojie1 a ,three-,self church pastor from ,nanle ,county in central ,henan was sentenced in ,july #bjad to #ab years in prison for gathering a crowd to disrupt the public order2 7,c7 ,pastor ,john ,cao1 a ,united ,states permanent resident from ,greensboro1 ,north ,carolina1 who was sentenced for #g years in prison in ,march #bjah under contrived charges of organizing illegal border crossings2 and 7,d7 ,pastor ,wang ,yi of the ,early ,rain ,covenant ,church who was arrested and sentenced to #i years in prison for inciting to subvert state power and illegal business operations4 7#ab7 ,authorities continue to detain ,falun ,gong practitioners and subject them to harsh and inhumane treatment4 7#ac7 ,since #aiii1 the ,department of ,state has designated the ,,prc as a country of particular concern under the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih4 7#ad7 ,the ,national ,security ,strategy of the ,united ,states1 issued in #bjag1 #bjae1 #bjjf1 #bjjb1 #aiii1 #aiih1 and #aiig1 committed the ,united ,states to promoting international religious freedom to advance the security1 economic1 and other national interests of the ,united ,states4 #c4 ,statement of policy 7a7 ,holding ,,prc officials responsible for religious freedom abuses targeting ,chinese ,christians or other religious minorities ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to consider senior officials of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 who are responsible for or have directly carried out1 at any time1 persecution of ,christians or other religious minorities in the ,,prc to have committed-- 7#a7 a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights for purposes of imposing sanctions with respect to such officials under the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note72 and 7#b7 a particularly severe violation of religious freedom for purposes of applying section #bab7;a77#b77;,g7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;a77#b77;,g77 with respect to such officials4 7b7 ,department of ,state programming to promote religious freedom in the ,people's ,republic of ,china ,the ,ambassador-at-,large for ,international ,religious ,freedom should support efforts to protect and promote international religious freedom in the ,,prc and for programs to protect ,christians and other religious minorities in the ,,prc4 7c7 ,designation of the ,people's ,republic of ,china as a ,country of ,particular ,concern ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to continue to designate the ,,prc as a country of particular concern1 as long as the ,,prc continues to engage in systematic and egregious religious freedom violations1 as defined by the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7,public ,law #aje-bib74 #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,united ,states should promote religious freedom in the ,,prc by-- 7#a7 strengthening religious freedom diplomacy on behalf of ,christians and other religious minorities facing restrictions in the ,,prc2 7#b7 raising cases relating to religious or political prisoners at the highest levels with ,,prc officials 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#c7 encouraging ,members of ,congress to adopt a prisoner of conscience in the ,,prc through the ,tom ,lantos ,human ,rights ,commission's ,defending ,freedom ,project1 raise the case with ,,prc officials1 and work publicly for their release2 7#d7 calling on the ,,prc ,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 7#e7 encouraging the global faith community to speak in solidarity with the persecuted religious groups in the ,,prc2 and 7#f7 hosting1 once every two years1 the ,ministerial to ,advance ,religious ,freedom organized by the ,department of ,state in order to bring together leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom1 identify means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide1 and promote great respect for and preservation of religious liberty4 #e4 ,sense of ,congress regarding actions at ,united ,nations ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,united ,nations ,human ,rights ,council should issue a formal condemnation of the ,people's ,republic of ,china for the ongoing genocide against ,uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups1 as well as for its persecution of ,christians1 ,falun ,gong1 and other religious groups4 ,passed the ,house of ,representatives ,september #bi1 #bjbb4;,clerk4