October 23, 2025
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Graham, and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
Expressing condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party's
persecution of religious minority groups, including Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists
and the detention of Pastor Ezra
Jin Mingri and leaders of the Zion
Church, and reaffirming the United States' global commitment to promote religious
freedom and tolerance.
Whereas, on October 10, 2025, international news outlets reported that the Chinese Communist Party (referred to in this preamble as the CCP
) abducted Pastor Ezra
Jin Mingri, who is the founder of Beijing Zion Church, from his home in Guangxi Province, China;
Whereas CCP authorities also abducted more than 20 other pastors and church members from Zion Church;
Whereas the CCP’s actions mark the largest coordinated, nationwide crackdown against a Christian urban house church in more than 40 years;
Whereas thousands of Zion Church members and millions of Christians and other religious adherents who reside in the People’s Republic of China seek to peacefully worship God and care for their neighbors without the threat or fear of persecution;
Whereas the imprisonment of Pastor Jin is the latest instance of CCP persecution of a large number of religious minorities, including Christians, Muslim Uyghurs, Hui Muslims, and Tibetan Buddhists;
Whereas, in 2016, President Xi Jinping promised to Sinicize
religion in China by allowing authorities to burn Bibles, imprison believers, and tear down Christian crosses, and by forcing religious organizations and adherents to conform to the ideology of the CCP;
Whereas, in 2021, the Trump Administration determined the CCP had committed crimes against humanity and genocide against predominately Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang and that the CCP has continued to subject religious minorities to restrictions on religious practices and freedom of expression, arbitrary imprisonment, forced sterilization torture, and forced labor;
Whereas the CCP has made consistent efforts to erode the religious, linguistic, and cultural identity of Tibetans, including by closing Buddhist monasteries and limiting entry or practitioners;
Whereas Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–292), which established, as the official policy of the United States—
(1)
to condemn violations of religious freedom;
(2)
to promote, and assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right to freedom of religion;
(3)
to stand for liberty and with the persecuted;
(4)
to use and implement appropriate tools in the United States foreign policy apparatus, including diplomatic, political, commercial, charitable, educational, and cultural channels; and
(5)
to promote respect for religious freedom by all governments and peoples;
Whereas, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has designated the People's Republic of China as a country of particular concern for religious freedom
every year since 1999;
Whereas Congress unanimously passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 114–281) in 2016 to enhance the capabilities of the United States to advance religious liberty globally through diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance;
Whereas the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328), enacted by Congress in 2016, gives the President the authority to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for committing human rights violations;
Whereas the People's Republic of China is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at New York December 19, 1966, which recognize freedom of religion as a fundamental human right;
Whereas Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China explicitly states that citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief; and
Whereas the United States must show strong international leadership when it comes to the advancement of religious freedoms, liberties, and protections: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
strongly condemns the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of religious minorities, including Pastor Ezra
Jin Mingri and other leaders and members of Zion Church and other faith communities;
(2)
reaffirms the commitment of the United States to promote religious freedom and tolerance around the world and to help provide protection and relief to religious minorities facing persecution and violence;
(3)
calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to release the members of Zion Church, including Pastor Jin, and all other wrongfully detained religious leaders; and
(4)
demands that the Government of the People’s Republic of China—
(A)
respect the internationally recognized human right to freedom from religious persecution; and
(B)
end all forms of violence and discrimination against religious minorities and entities.