USCIRF urged the State Department to redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for its severe violations of religious freedom
Newsroom (01/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) The Chinese government’s relentless campaign to control religious expression has escalated, prompting the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to call for renewed action from the U.S. Department of State. In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF urged the State Department to redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for its severe violations of religious freedom, a status China has held nearly every year since 1999.
The report, released this month, paints a grim picture of China’s systematic efforts to suppress religious communities. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under President Xi Jinping, has intensified its “sinicization of religion” policy, compelling state-sanctioned religious groups to align their doctrines with the party’s ideological mandates. Surveillance, fines, imprisonment, torture, and enforced disappearances are among the tactics used to enforce compliance, particularly targeting the Catholic Church and Protestant congregations.
“Religious freedom conditions in China remained among the worst in the world in 2024,” the USCIRF report stated. The commission highlighted China’s use of advanced technology, including high-tech surveillance outside places of worship, to monitor and repress religious activities. The government has also employed transnational repression and disinformation to silence critics of its policies, leveraging emerging technologies to stifle dissent both domestically and abroad.
Crackdown on Catholic and Protestant Communities
The USCIRF report detailed harrowing cases of persecution, particularly against underground Catholic clergy who refuse to join the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. In February 2024, authorities in Zhejiang Province fined Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of the Diocese of Wenzhou $27,880 for celebrating Mass in public. When Shao refused to pay, police detained him for a week in March and arrested him again before Holy Week to prevent further religious services. By July, authorities escalated their efforts, arresting and threatening clergy and laypeople to force Shao to submit to state control.
The whereabouts of several detained underground Catholic leaders, including Bishops James Su Zhimin and Joseph Zhang Weizhu, remain unknown. Protestant house churches face similar repression, with police raiding gatherings and harassing, fining, or imprisoning members on fabricated charges such as “fraud” and “subversion” for refusing to join state-sanctioned organizations.
“Religious groups who refuse to submit to the government’s all-encompassing control over religious affairs face widespread persecution,” the USCIRF report noted. The CCP’s “Five-Year Sinicization Work Plans” enforce strict oversight, demanding loyalty to the party’s ideological framework.
Vatican-China Agreement Under Strain
Despite a provisional agreement between the Vatican and China on bishop appointments, renewed in 2024, the CCP’s grip on religious institutions remains unyielding. Many faithful Catholics resort to underground worship to evade state control over religious practices, publications, and finances. The USCIRF report documented instances where authorities detained or forcibly disappeared clergy who resisted state oversight, underscoring the agreement’s limited impact on curbing repression.
USCIRF’s Call to Action
Beyond urging the State Department to redesignate China as a CPC, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government, in coordination with international partners, impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials and entities responsible for religious freedom violations. The commission also called for measures to counter China’s use of technology to suppress religious expression, as outlined in the International Religious Freedom Act.
Additionally, USCIRF urged Congress to consider legislation tightening restrictions on China’s use of technologies that facilitate human rights abuses and to ban paid lobbying in the U.S. by agents representing the Chinese government. These steps aim to address the CCP’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence and surveillance to enforce its policies.
The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the USCIRF recommendations.
A Persistent Pattern of Repression
China’s designation as a CPC, which triggers diplomatic measures, sanctions, or international pressure, reflects a decades-long pattern of religious persecution. The USCIRF’s findings underscore the challenges facing religious communities in China and the urgent need for global action to address the CCP’s tightening grip on freedom of belief.
As the international community grapples with China’s human rights record, the USCIRF’s recommendations signal a call for renewed diplomatic and legislative efforts to hold Beijing accountable.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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