{ "error": "", "type": "text", "title": "Remarks by Vice President Pence at the 2nd Annual Religious Freedom Ministerial - Myanmar [Burma], China, and North Korea", "slug": "remarks-by-vice-president-pence-at-the-2nd-annual-religious-freedom-ministerial-myanmar-burma-china-and-north-korea", "text": "
\"We\u2019re also standing up for the persecuted Rohingya people in Burma. While that conflict has fallen along ethnic lines, we cannot ignore the rise of militant Buddhism against Muslim and Christian minorities that\u2019s taken place. A brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya has forced more than 700,000 to flee across the border to Bangladesh. And though the United States has repeatedly urged the Burmese government to hold accountable all those responsible, the government has continued to imprison and harass innocent men and women.<\/p>\n
Like a young Rohingya woman who is here with us today. When she was just 18 years old, she was thrown in jail for the simple crime of being the daughter of a political activist who dared to challenge the old military regime. For seven years, she and her family endured deplorable conditions, but they never lost faith in the freedom that was their birthright.<\/p>\n
Eventually, she was released. And since then, she\u2019s gone on to earn a law degree and a master\u2019s of laws from the University of California-Berkeley. Now, she\u2019s a leading advocate of empowering women and girls all over the world. She\u2019s an inspiring woman, and we\u2019re honored to have her with us today. Please join me in recognizing Wai Wai Nu. Thank you for your example and your leadership. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
The United States has urged the Burmese government to hold accountable those responsible and make it clear that these mass atrocities must never happen again. But, so far, our words of admonition have seemed to fall on deaf ears. And that\u2019s why this week, the United States of America placed visa sanctions on Burma\u2019s top two military leaders \u2014 the commander in chief and his deputy \u2014 as well as two commanders of light infantry brigades. We will hold them accountable. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re standing up to the malign regime in Iran and pressing for accountability in Burma, but the United States has also spoken out against religious persecution in the People\u2019s Republic of China. And we do so again today.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s oppression of Tibetan Buddhists goes back decades. As part of its efforts to oppress Tibetan Buddhism, back in 1995, Chinese authorities captured the legitimate Panchen Lama, then just a 6-year-old boy, and neither he nor his family have been heard from in the 24 years since.<\/p>\n
And in Xinjiang, the Communist Party has imprisoned more than a million Chinese Muslims, including Uighurs, in internment camps where they endure around-the-clock brainwashing. Survivors of the camps have described their experiences as a deliberate attempt by Beijing to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Muslim faith.<\/p>\n
Religious persecution in China has also targeted the Christian faith. But in one of the greatest ironies in the history of Christianity, in today\u2019s Communist China, we actually see the fastest growth in the Christian faith that we have ever seen anywhere on Earth in the last 2,000 years.<\/p>\n
Just 70 years ago, when the Communist Party took power, there were fewer than half a million Chinese Christians. Yet today, just two generations later, faith in Jesus Christ has reached as many as 130 million Chinese Christians.<\/p>\n
The truth is, faith is breaking out all across China \u2014 even in the streets of Hong Kong. As the pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai told me earlier this month, when young people encounter police in the streets during the protest marches that have drawn millions, he said those young people often sing songs of worship and praise. As he said, they sing, \u201cHallelujah to the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chinese authorities may ban the sale of Christian Bibles, but that hasn\u2019t stopped China from publishing more Christian Bibles than any other country on Earth. Chinese authorities may ban the construction of Christian churches, but that hasn\u2019t prevented China from building more Christian churches than any other country in the world.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s experience is just more evidence of a time-worn truth: The pathway through persecution lies in the faith and resilience of the persecuted.<\/p>\n
Like that of a pastor of a large, unregistered church in Guizhou, China. On December 9, 2015, Pastor Su Tianfu was placed under house arrest after Chinese law enforcement raided the Living Stone Church. Later, he and his fellow co-pastor were charged a fine of up to a million dollars for collecting illegal donations from their church parishioners. And just last year, he was sentenced to one year in prison.<\/p>\n
His courage in the face of such relentless persecution is an inspiration to freedom-loving people all over the world. And we\u2019re honored to have with us today his courageous wife, who has been with him every step of the way. So join me in recognizing Manping Ouyang. We are honored that you are with us today. And we are inspired by your faith. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
The United States is engaged in ongoing negotiations and discussions over our trading relationship with China. And those will continue. But whatever comes of our negotiations with Beijing, you can be assured, the American people will always stand in solidarity with the people of all faiths in the People\u2019s Republic of China. And we will pray for the day that they can live out their faith freely, without fear of persecution.<\/p>\n
But for all of the challenges that believers face in China, the treatment of people of faith in North Korea is much worse. As the United Nations Commission on Human Rights reported, and I quote, \u201cThe violations of human rights in the DPRK\u2026constitute crimes against humanity\u2026the gravity, scale, and nature of which has no parallel in the contemporary world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Open Doors has identified North Korea as the world\u2019s worst persecutor of Christians for the past 18 years. The North Korean regime formally demands that its officials act to, in their words, \u201cwipe out the seed of [Christian] reactionaries.\u201d And possession of a Bible is a capital offense.<\/p>\n
So you can be confident, as President Trump continues to pursue the denuclearization of North Korea and a lasting peace, the United States will continue to stand for the freedom of religion of all people of all faiths on the Korean Peninsula. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
The United States stands with all victims of religious persecution. And the America people have them in our hearts and in our prayers, whether it be North Korea, China, Burma, Iran, or all around the world.\"<\/p>", "quote": null, "citation": "