c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Human rights activists on Monday (Nov. 21) praised President Bush’s call for religious freedom during his recent visit to China, but said the Communist government’s apparent unwillingness to make concessions is discouraging.

The topic came to the foreground during the president’s week-long diplomatic swing through East Asia, which ended Monday. He visited Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and China, where his appeals for religiouse freedom were largely ignored by the Chinese government and press.

Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Center for Religious Freedom, a division of the human rights organization Freedom House, called China’s indifference to the president’s requests “disturbing.” She said the appeals haven’t “done anything and in fact it’s been repression as usual.”

A few weeks before the president’s visit, the Chinese government sentenced a Beijing underground church leader to three years in prison for selling Bibles. Critics call the action a prime example of China’s religious oppression, which they say has included beatings, imprisonment and torture of religious individuals and groups not registered with the government.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said U.S. officials complained “quite vociferously” about such repression in the weeks before Bush’s visit.

In private meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Bush emphasized his belief that religious and political freedom “go hand in hand,” he told reporters.

“A society which will recognize religious freedom is a society which will recognize political freedoms as well,” Bush said Sunday. “And part of a system which recognizes the right of people to express themselves is a system which also recognizes the right of people to worship freely.”

The Bush administration named China a serious violator of religious freedom in its annual State Department report to Congress, released Nov. 8.

Michael Cromartie, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said the president’s actions in China were an “extremely positive” sign that the Bush administration takes international religious freedom seriously. The commission, created by Congress, does not make policy but advises U.S. government officials.

“It cannot hurt that when the president of the United States meets with Chinese leaders, one of the first things he says is that people ought to be free to express their religion,” Cromartie said. “The president should be applauded for linking religious freedom to political freedom and human rights.”

Bush urged Hu to open discussions with Catholic leaders from the Vatican as well as the Dalai Lama, who met with the president at the White House earlier this month.

John Ackerly, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, said Bush’s dialogue is a step in the right direction for an administration that has traditionally “soft-pedaled” human rights issues. Ackerly’s organization, based in Washington, advocates autonomy and religious freedom for Tibet, which was annexed by China in 1959.

“We’re hopeful that the president was more straightforward this time and that they will put more muscle into these issues,” he said, adding he was pleased Bush mentioned the Dalai Lama to Chinese officials.

Hu, however, appeared to show little interest in Bush’s appeals. China’s state-run news media ignored Bush’s high-profile morning visit to a Beijing church Sunday, which Bush called an “affirmation of my strong belief that people should be able to worship freely.”

Shea, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said China’s response makes it clear economic sanctions will be necessary to persuade Chinese officials to make constructive changes.

“Words, no matter how sternly delivered, are not going to make an impact,” Shea said. “That’s very distressing for all of us.”

MO/RB END RNS