Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of persecution of Christians in China; and what steps he is taking to help support persecuted Christians in China.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians.

The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.

We regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities. The former Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister in August 2023.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on reports of the repression of the country's Christian community through surveillance, censorship and disinformation.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief.

We regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on 20 September.

We also work within the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance and other international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Chinese Government on the impact of its Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services legislation on Christians in that country seeking to access material on the internet.

Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief.

We regularly raise our concerns about human rights violations and freedom of religion or belief directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. Most recently, we raised our concerns in a statement at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 21 March. The Foreign Secretary also underlined our concerns in a personal address to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding recent reports that bishops are (1) secretly detained, (2) placed under house arrest, and (3) subjected to forced disappearance and "patriotic education"; and further to the jailing of Pastor Hao Zhiwei in February, what assessment they have made of his sentencing.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are concerned by reports that Pastor Hao Zhiwei was sentenced to eight years in prison in February on fraud charges. This adds to our deep concern about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China. We regularly raise our concerns about human rights violations and freedom of religion or belief directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary underlined our concerns in an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March.