Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, since designating China as one of ten priority countries in its Freedom of Religious Belief (FoRB) strategy, what actions her Department has taken to tackle FoRB violations in China.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK stands firm on human rights in China and we are concerned by recent reports of Christians being detained in China. We continue to monitor the situation closely and the Prime Minister raised human rights with President Xi when they met in January. To support our wider efforts to champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), David Smith MP was appointed Special Envoy for FoRB in December 2024, and the UK hosted a Geneva event in July 2025 reaffirming the universal right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to raise cases of detained Christian religious leaders with Chinese authorities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK stands firm on human rights in China and we are concerned by recent reports of Christians being detained in China. We continue to monitor the situation closely and the Prime Minister raised human rights with President Xi when they met in January. To support our wider efforts to champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), David Smith MP was appointed Special Envoy for FoRB in December 2024, and the UK hosted a Geneva event in July 2025 reaffirming the universal right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Reform UK - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Chinese authorities concerning the formal arrest of 18 leaders from Zion church in Guangxi Province; and what steps she is taking with international partners to help ensure their release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the response given to Question 91956 on 26 November.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on reports of attacks against Christian communities in eastern China; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure the protection of those communities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 October to question 77079.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on restrictions faced by (a) Christians and (b) underground churches in China.
Answered by Catherine West
The environment for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. Chinese regulations on religious activity severely restrict religious and cultural expression in China. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to FoRB. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts.
More broadly, this Government champions FoRB for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to FoRB through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
The recent launch of our FoRB strategy on July 8 outlines our approach to promoting and protecting the right to FoRB globally, of which China is one of ten focus countries. We continue to do all we can to encourage FoRB across China.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of warnings by US-based group International Christian Concern on 28 October that China’s pledge of support for Iran could intensify the persecution of Christians in both China and Iran.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The conditions for freedom of religion or belief in both China and Iran are restrictive, particularly for Christians, who face persecution. This Government stands firm in its advocacy of human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Foreign Secretary has raised human rights in every meeting with his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi, including during his recent visit to China on 18 October. We have also repeatedly expressed concern at the ongoing incarceration and sentencing of members of Christian churches for practicing their faith in Iran. More broadly, this Government will champion freedom of religion or belief for members of all faiths worldwide. We will work to uphold this freedom through our positions at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent persecution of Christians in China.
Answered by Catherine West
The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians.
This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Foreign Secretary has raised human rights in every meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, including during his recent visit to China on 18 October.
More broadly, this Government will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We will work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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
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.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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
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.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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
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.