Sen. Marco Rubio condemned China on Monday as a nation that “burns Bibles, ransacks Christian churches” and forces Muslims into internment camps.
Rubio, R-Fla, was reacting to stories by Tthe Associated Press and others that the Chinese government is escalating its crackdown on religion by burning Bibles, closing churches, and ordering Christians to renounce their faith and pledge their loyalty to the atheistic Communist Party.
China is cracking down on all religions. AP reported that an estimated 1 million Uighurs and other members of Muslim minority groups have been arbitrarily detained in indoctrination camps where they are forced to denounce Islam.
Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a frequent critic of China, arguing that the country should be held accountable for its human rights abuses.
In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal last month, Rubio said the Chinese government is brutally repressing Muslims and “American leaders must find the political will to confront this evil.”
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