China lodges protest with U.S. after religious freedom report
Mon May 4, 2015 5:24am EDT
(Reuters) - China has lodged a protest with the United States after a U.S. government commission said Chinese violations of religious freedom were "severe" and "systematic", the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan U.S. federal government body, said in a report last week that there were "unprecedented violations" against Christians, Buddhists and Muslims in China last year.
The report urged the U.S. Department of State to re-designate China's government as a top-tier violator, along with 16 other countries, including Myanmar, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing was firmly opposed to the report's findings and had already lodged a diplomatic protest.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/04/us-china-usa-religion-idUSKBN0NP0N220150504
