Beijing, Sept. 13, 00 (CWNews.com) - The Communist government of China on Wednesday accused the US of interfering in its internal affairs, denouncing a US State Department report that said China is persecuting religious groups.
The report, issued earlier this month, surveys religious freedoms worldwide and lists those countries which restrict freedom of religion. The White House could then use the report to level a variety of sanctions. The current report said China was brutally repressing the Falun Gong spiritualist movement, Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, and other group.
"Relying solely on rumors and lies to accuse other governments and interfere in internal affairs of other countries is a mistake repeatedly made by the US State Department report. This bad habit should be addressed," an unidentified spokesman for the State Administration of Religious Affairs said in remarks carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope.