Brownback says China’s actions amount to systematic assault on freedom of belief

Former Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said the U.S. is “in a battle today with the Chinese Communist Party” over religious persecution.

“Weʼre in a battle today with the Chinese Communist Party and their authoritarian view, and their view that religion is an opium of the people, something that should be thrown out, discarded, persecuted, stomped on, and killed,” Brownback said at a May 12 event at the Hudson Institute. 

Brownback appeared at the event to promote his book “China’s War on Faith,” co-authored with journalist Michael Arkush.

The book, released May 12, highlights “three genocides” taking place in China against the Tibetan Buddhist, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners, as well as systematic persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

The event comes as U.S. President Donald Trump travels to China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Additional speakers included Nina Shea, Hudson Institute senior fellow; former Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Virginia; as well as individuals profiled in the book, such as Frances Hui, Hong Kong Foundation policy and advocacy manager; Mihrigul Tursun, a Uyghur woman once detained in Xinjiang; Arjia Rinpoche, Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center director; Falun Gong practitioner Wang Chunyan; and Chinese Christian “Born Again Movement” founder Peter Xu.

“Their stories really merit movies being made about them,” Brownback said. “Itʼs my prayer that this book is the clarion call, is the trumpet sound, into the fight against persecution of people in faith, of all faiths in China, and for us to stand up on American principles against that persecution.”

Brownback lauded the panelists for speaking out about their stories of persecution under the Chinese Communist Party, which he described as “a regime that has killed more of its own people than any other regime in the history of mankind; a regime that is at war with us, whether we realize we are at war with them or not.”

“I hope the president’s trip is very successful,” he said. “The president has done more than any president of modern times to push for religious freedom. He believes the world needs more religion. Thatʼs the direct opposite of what the Chinese Communist Party believes. It believes there should be no religion whatsoever in the world. And those two systems are clashing with each other.”

‘Critical’ international religious freedom post vacant

Brownback told EWTN News “it is critical right now” for Trump to nominate an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, a post that has remained vacant since the start of the administration after Trump’s nominee, Mark Walker, saw his confirmation stall in the Senate.

“We need to have that voice and that representation inside the administration and talking about what China is doing, and we need it right now,” he said, adding that he hopes the Trump administration will nominate someone quickly and that the Senate will proceed with a swift confirmation.

“Iʼve talked to a person that theyʼre discussing, I understand, internally, and I think she would be excellent, but I donʼt know if that oneʼs moving forward or not, and Iʼm not at liberty to say,” Brownback said.

Brownback’s remarks come after the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged Trump to fill the position in a statement on May 11.