Opinion Pieces
The Washington Times Op-Ed by Rep. Smith'Christians face brutal year in China; don’t let Beijing bury repression of religious freedom'By Reps. Chris Smith and Dale Strong - Wednesday, March 4, 2026
OPINION: In December, hundreds of armed police swept through a village near Wenzhou, China, a city known as the “Jerusalem of China” because of its concentration of Christian believers, and reportedly tore down crosses and arrested more than 100 members of unregistered Protestant “house churches.” The intent of this operation was clear: Meet outside the state’s approved religious system, and you will be treated as a national security problem rather than a community of faith. As 2026 began, the crackdown continued. Six members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, an influential underground Protestant congregation in Chengdu, were arrested and charged with national security crimes simply for meeting and worshipping. For those who have watched China’s tightening restrictions for years, the news felt grimly familiar. Early Rain was targeted in a major raid in 2018, and its founder, pastor Wang Yi, was later sentenced to nine years in prison. These developments should matter to Americans not only because religious freedom is a fundamental human right but also because Beijing is refining a template for controlling religious communities, one designed to be efficient, exportable and compatible with modern surveillance. What happens in China will not stay in China. The Chinese Communist Party permits religious life only within strict state-defined boundaries. Churches are expected to submit to government oversight, avoid “unauthorized” religious teaching (including on topics such as abortion and creation), ban instruction for minors and conform to party priorities. Under President Xi Jinping, this has hardened into what officials describe as “Sinicization,” a campaign to bring faith communities into complete political alignment with the state. The goal is the removal of any independent moral authority that can gather people, shape conscience and create community beyond party supervision or control. Protestant “house churches,” by definition outside that system, do exactly that. It’s why crackdowns so often zero in on pastors and lay leaders, physical meeting points and use of the internet to gather the faithful. The pattern extends across China. This fall, authorities moved against the Zion Church network and its founder, pastor Ezra Jin Mingri. Eighteen leaders were formally arrested under accusations tied to the “illegal use of information networks.” That charge is telling and reflects the CCP’s effort to treat ordinary communication online as illegal when it operates outside government control or approval. As President Trump prepares to meet CPP General Secretary Xi Jinping in China this month, it’s good to be reminded that the U.S. government has the tools it needs to signal to Beijing that religious freedom is an inalienable right and a foundational pillar of global prosperity and security. First, we must make the cases impossible to bury. Naming detainees, churches and the officials responsible denies Beijing the advantage of operating in darkness. An estimated 500,000 religious believers in China face sometimes-severe restrictions. Signaling to victims, who are often isolated and pressured, that the U.S. will stand with them is critically important. Second, the president and secretary of state should meet with American citizen families of detained Christians in China. The Oval Office is the nation’s most powerful megaphone. Used wisely, it can elevate the issue to the highest level and make one point unmistakable to Beijing and to the world: The freedom to worship is a core American principle and interest, and the U.S. will defend it publicly and consistently. Third, we must impose targeted costs. The State Department can restrict visas and apply targeted sanctions against individuals and entities implicated in serious abuses involving Christians and other faith communities. If you’re responsible for the arrest or torture of pastors for peaceful worship, you shouldn’t be allowed to benefit from the U.S. banking system or tourism in the United States. Finally, we have to treat religious freedom diplomacy as a national security concern. Working to end religious persecution isn’t just a matter of values; it enhances U.S. national security options, a point made by former religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback at a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing last year. Research shows that societies that protect peaceful religious practice make better trade partners, are less prone to internal conflict and extremism and are more likely to address corruption. These are concerns the U.S. and China share. When autocrats begin jailing pastors, policing doctrine and severing communities from international contact, it often signals an expansion of coercion and censorship, including efforts that reach beyond borders to silence critics in the U.S. This latter point is happening right now, as documented in the CECC’s 2025 annual report. The Chinese Communist Party uses its power to intimidate and censor diaspora communities in the U.S. by threatening their families in China, infiltrating religious communities abroad and even pressuring churches in America to fly Communist Party flags. Chinese agents have threatened Mr. Jin’s family multiple times to stop their public advocacy for his release. It must stop. Some will argue that speaking openly about the CCP’s abuses complicates diplomacy, but the opposite is true. Looking away doesn’t reduce diplomatic tension; it teaches autocrats that intimidation works. The advance of Chinese totalitarianism in the world is not in America’s interest. If we want an Indo-Pacific where law and commerce can flourish, then we should treat religious freedom as a strategic priority because the U.S. will be safer and more prosperous when people of conscience are allowed to be free. • Reps. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican, and Dale Strong, Alabama Republican, serve on the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The commission’s 2025 annual report was released in December. |
