The China section of the US State Department's "Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999" distorts facts and harbors ulterior motives, said the article from the Chinese Religious Studies Center.

The report, issued by the US State Department in September, irresponsibly commented on religious affairs in many countries.

A month later, the US Congress held hearings on the subject and listed China and several other countries as countries for " special concern" and impose sanctions against these countries.

"Leaving aside the question of whether the United States has the right to interfere with the domestic affairs of other countries according to its domestic laws, let's first have an analysis of what a trash the report is", the article said.

The report has presented its arguments from a biased viewpoint and never broken free of its traditional thinking of the Cold War.

With pre-conceived prejudice, the report held that there exists no religious freedom in China.

It reasoned that since China is a country ruled by the Communists, China could not possibly allow religious freedom since Communists are atheists, and that the Chinese government could only confine and control the development of religions.

Proceeding from this, the report tried all it could, even went so far as to resort to fact-distorting and fabrication, to attain the so-called "facts" for its wrong arguments, the article said.

Not even the authors of the report could offer a satisfactory explanation as to why in China, a country ruled by so-called " autocrats and dictators," the number of religious believers has expanded so quickly, showing more vitality than in Europe and North American which claim to "fully embrace religious freedom."

Occasionally, the US government report had to admit that in China the number of religious believers has continued to rise and that in some places had encountered no interference from the government.

In fact, the Communist Party of China has always respected and protected religious freedom in the country. Even the Chinese Soviet Areas of the 1930s and the Liberated Areas of the 1940s pursued a policy of religious freedom, the article noted.

Since the founding of New China 50 years ago, the Central Government has enthusiastically enforced full protection of its citizens' rights of religious freedom, which have been explicitly stipulated in its laws including the Constitution, the Criminal Law and the law on the autonomy of ethnic regions. Relevant laws have also been adopted to penalize behavior encroaching upon the Chinese citizens' right to religious freedom.

The US State Department report claimed that it knew of no Chinese public servant who had been punished for interfering with citizens' religious freedom. "We are not sure whether the authors are really ignorant and ill-informed or just pretending not to know," the article said.

The severe punishment of the Sichuan Pictorial Publishing House and its counterparts in 1993 should have fully demonstrated the solemnity of the Chinese laws and the sincerity of the Chinese government in protecting the freedom of religion, it noted.

In recent years, the Chinese government has signed a series of major world conventions on human rights and enacted relevant laws and regulations to implement these conventions.

It has also enthusiastically supported the participation of religious believers in governmental affairs.

So far, over 17,000 of these believers have been admitted into the People's Congresses and the People's Political Consultative Conferences at all levels.

The Chinese government's policy of freedom of religious belief has been both sincere and successful, the article stressed.

Incomplete statistics show that at present China has over 100 million religious believers, 85,000 places for religious activities, 300,000 religious workers, and 3,000 religious groups. Religious groups have also established 74 religious schools and universities.

The article noted that in China, there are 13,000 Buddhist temples with 200,000 monks and nuns, of which 120,000 are lamas and nuns of Tibetan Buddhism, and over 1,500 Taoist temples with 25,000 followers, more than 30,000 Islamic mosques with 18 million believers, and 12,000 churches with about 10 million Christians.

China's religious groups handle their own affairs, manage their own educational institutes, publish their own religious books and magazines, and sponsor their own social welfare activities.

The rights of religious workers and religious believers are fully protected by law and no interference in their affairs is tolerated, the article said.

Because of these efforts, many candid and fair observers have expressed the view that China's policy of religious freedom is being enforced with more vigor now than ever before.

However, the authors of the report continue to blind their eyes from this widely held conclusion and the basic facts, and spread the nonsense that the Chinese government limits religious freedom and practices "religious prosecution."

The report also distorts facts and fabricates lies in order to deceive and mislead the public, the article said.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in his meeting with US Christian leaders in November, 1997, noted that despite all the differences between the two countries, the basic facts should not be distorted.

"A small number of people in the US are making noises on the so-called Chinese religious issue. However, the facts should not be overwhelmed by the noises," Jiang said at the time.

The article noted that since the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations, many US government leaders, Congressmen, and religious figures have visited China and its places of worship.

People at the US State Department should be better informed on religious festivals in China, since they do maintain an embassy here.

Taoism originated in China and Buddhism has been in the country for over 2,000 years and was long ago incorporated into traditional Chinese culture.

Though relatively new, both Protestant and Catholic Christianity have developed strongly here since the founding of New China.

Some people in the US speak of "prosecuted Christians," and this has hindered their ability to acquire an in-depth understanding of religious affairs in China, the article noted.

The fact is that Christianity, rather than being prosecuted, has seen its fastest development in China. First introduced into the country in 1807, it had only 740,000 followers over its first 140 years in China, up to the time New China was established in 1949.

The US report admitted that at present China has 10 to 15 million Christians, 12,000 churches, and over 250,000 meeting places.

Even if Chinese Christians now number only 10 million, this would mean a 15-fold increase in their number in just 50 years. Is there any other place in the world that can match this rate?

Christian churches in China have also witnessed the fastest development. In the early 1980s, there were only three churches that were open to the public.

Now, this number has jumped to 12,000; and every three days there are two more new Christian churches opened to public across the country. While in the US, the situation is just the contrary.

China also turns out more Bibles than anywhere else in the world. From 1980 to 1998, a total of 20 million Bibles were printed by the China Christian Council, whose prominence in this respect has never been challenged by any other publisher in the world.

At the same time, Christians in China have established 17 theological seminaries here, and their publication "Tianfeng" boasts the largest circulation of any religious magazines in China.

"We would like to know whether "limits" and "prosecutions" could possibly result in all the above-mentioned achievements and facts," the article asked.

The US government report also leveled charges against China on some specific issues, including the registration of religious places, the protection of ethnic culture and tradition, the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, and the crackdown on evil cults.

Registering social groups is a practice adopted by many countries, so that these groups can be legally recognized to shoulder their duties and attain full legal protection.

"This is also in line with social development and conducive to the healthy development of the society," the article noted.

The article pointed out that, ostensibly, the United States does not require social groups to be registered. But its tax agencies designate and monitor those social groups that enjoy tax breaks and other benefits. "This, in essence, is the same as registration."

The article said that in such a vast country as China where religious believers account for only a small part, it is all the more necessary to have religious groups registered in order to protect their interests and religious activities.

"China's religious circles have also expressed their sincere support of this policy," the article said.

In the past few years, rapid economic growth and social development has given rise to ideological changes for some people.

Some cults, in the name of religion, took advantage of people's perplexity, usurped religious concepts, and used illegal psychological manipulation to control the minds of a small number of people.

As a result, the physical and psychological health, and even the personnel security, of these people was endangered.

As long as these cults had a number of followers, they were used as pawns to exert pressure on the government and challenge social traditions, further endangering the society and the people.

The article said this is a serious problem encountered by governments of all countries, including the United States and China, and solving this problem requires concerted efforts among governments worldwide.

People in many countries bitterly hate these cults, and no country allows them to rampage, so governments adopt various measures to prevent cults from endangering social security and the lives and property of the people.

Statistics indicate that many European countries have attached great importance to this problem, and the United States has established quite a number of anti-cult organizations.

In the past few years, some cults appeared in China in the name of religion. Falun Gong, banned by the Chinese government earlier this year, was a typical cult which attempted to endanger social security and the physical and psychological health of the people in the name of religion.

The ban imposed by the Chinese government has not only helped maintain the security of the lives and property of the people and social stability, but has also won support from religious circles, especially from the followers of Buddhism.

A small number of people in the US administration and Congress made fuss about the ban and accused the Chinese government of abusing human rights.

Would these people be satisfied if the Chinese government allowed cults to endanger lives and social security?

Cults such as the "People's Temple" and a sect led by David Koresh brought serious damage to the US administration and people, so do these critics in the US think the people of China should suffer a repetition of these tragedies?

The US report again raised the so-called issue of "prisoners of conscience" and said that China has been confining these " prisoners of conscience" for their religious beliefs.

The report cited several "individual cases" including Xu Yongze and Su Zhimin, in an effort to prove that China is engaging in " religious persecution."

In fact, the article said, China did not arrest anyone for their religious belief, and Xu Yongze was a person devoid of common religion knowledge and basic theological accomplishments.

US politicians should better think of their reputations before they use such examples to serve their political interest.

For a government report from a major power, the US report is filled with contradictions. It cites sentences and words from short reports and rumors to make groundless accusations stemming also from their rich imaginations.

The article said the US report not only reflects a bureaucratic work style and an extremely irresponsible attitude in the US administration and Congress, but also indicates big-power hegemonism on the part of the US administration.

This extremely irresponsible report will ultimately harm the existing good relations between China and the US, and surely endanger the long-term interest of the US itself, the article concludes. (Xinhua)