Combatting the Persecution of Religious Groups in the People’s Republic of China Act

It is the sense of Congress that the United States should promote international religious freedom in the People’s Republic of China by—

(1) strengthening diplomacy relating to religious freedom on behalf of ethnic and religious minority groups, including through the widespread engagement of international partners to combat abuses of religious freedom committed by the Government of the People’s Republic of China;

(2) strengthening multilateral diplomacy to address the persecution of ethnic and religious minority groups in the People’s Republic of China;

(3) raising the cases of political prisoners imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religious belief with officials at the highest levels of the Government of the People’s Republic of China;

(4) calling on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end its harassment and persecution of members of religious organizations, including underground house church networks, unconditionally release all unjustly detained political prisoners imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religious belief, and ensure that detainees who have not yet been released are treated humanely with—

(A) access to family, the legal counsel of their choice, independent medical care, and international monitoring mechanisms; and

(B) the ability to practice their faith while in detention;

(5) encouraging the global faith community to speak in solidarity with oppressed religious groups in the People’s Republic of China; and

(6) strengthening—

(A) programs to document and monitor abuses; and

(B) support for defenders of internationally recognized human rights and at-risk communities, including dissidents and individuals who have faced religious persecution by the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party.