US-China Dialogue Is Occasion For Petition By China House Churches

Yesterday and today in Washington, the State Department and Treasury Department are hosting the third joint meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last month urged the State Department to raise religious freedom issues during the conference. Christian Post reported yesterday the house churches in China are using the occasion to, for the first time in 60 years, petition China's legislature to guarantee the religious freedom of the country's largest house church, the Shouwang Church. Last month, 36 people attempting to attend an outdoor Easter service at the church were arrested. (See prior posting.)