A bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Tuesday urging him to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on Beijing's persecution of Christian pastors and other religious minorities during their bilateral summit this week in Washington. Led by Sens.
Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., the letter expressed gratitude to Trump for the diplomatic pressure that led to the release of Beijing Zion Church founder Ezra Jin, who was released to the U.S. on July 3 as a goodwill gesture from Xi following Jin's 266 days of detainment. The letter emphasized that the work in pressuring the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to relent in its crackdowns on people of faith is not over.
Other senators who signed the letter included Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Tim Scott, R-S.C.; James Lankford R-Okla.; and Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
"The United States should continue to promote international religious freedom by calling on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end its harassment and persecution of members of religious organizations, 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," the letter said.
Citing Trump's success with securing Jin's release, the senators requested that he "continue keeping those persecuted for their faith in China, including ethnic and religious minority groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners, top of mind in conversations with President Xi." The letter highlighted the cases of Pastor Gao Quanfu, pastor of Light of Zion Church in Xi'an and his wife; Pastor Tang Bingyi, also from Light of Zion Church; as well as the remaining eight leaders from