Combatting the Persecution of Religious Groups in China Act

Holding Officials Accountable: Under Section 2(a), the U.S. policy is to consider Chinese officials who are responsible for religious freedom abuses—such as arbitrary detention, forced sterilization, torture, forced labor, and serious restrictions against religious minorities like Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners—as potentially having committed a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights for the purpose of imposing sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. This is positive because it seeks to hold officials accountable for their actions.

Promoting Religious Freedom: Under Section 2(b), the policy states that relevant bureaus of the Department of State should support efforts to promote international religious freedom in the People's Republic of China and monitor transnational repression of religious minority groups. This is a positive step to support these groups.

Diplomacy and Prisoner Release: Under Section 3, it is the sense of Congress that the U.S. should designate China as a country of particular concern for religious freedom, strengthen diplomacy for Christians and other religious minorities, raise cases of prisoners at the highest levels, call on China to unconditionally release unjustly detained prisoners with humane treatment and the ability to practice their faith, and encourage the global faith community to speak in solidarity. This could positively benefit oppressed groups by bringing diplomatic pressure and attention to their plight.