At a congressional hearing on Feb. 4, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback testified on the global state of religious freedom.

He asserted that China continues to aid authoritarian and communist nations worldwide in their quest to suppress religious freedom.

“We are seeing something unprecedented, really, right now in the world,” Brownback stated. “There’s an alliance of nations that’s emerged, that sees religious freedom as the greatest internal threat to their dictatorial control. This alliance of communist, authoritarian, [and] totalitarian regimes will literally stop at nothing to control people of faith.”

Brownback continued, explaining that China is the main driver of assistance to religious persecutors throughout the world.

“The community of faith has become the target of this dark alliance that we’re facing off against, and China’s the puppet master behind all of it,” Brownback said.

China’s advanced use of technological surveillance via cameras and internet tracking is used to spy on individuals and state-sanctioned churches. The surveillance can be used to track citizens’ involvement in faith-based activities, drawing unwanted attention and harassment from authorities if an individual is deemed a threat.

According to Bob Fu of China Aid, Chinese surveillance is reaching new heights.

“The Chinese Communist Party has a powerful civilian surveillance system with hundreds of millions of face-recognition cameras,” Fu stated. “They are all over China, including all the four walls of the church building and pulpits and every corner of the street.”

Known as ‘digital authoritarianism,’ China is sharing its technological surveillance programs with nations, including Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, that are known for religious freedom abuses.

According to Premier Christian News, Professor Stephen Schneck of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) explained that the tactics being used allow for the worsening of religious persecution.

“Some of these new technologies used by countries like Iran and China create brand new ways for the repression of religion or the control of religion around the world,” Schneck said.

“In China, facial recognition techniques allow the Chinese Communist Party to monitor those who attend religious ceremonies, and so it enables them to track them and to repress them at a level that wasn’t available to them before.”

Schneck continued, saying the tactics being used stir up fear and should be taken very seriously.

“It’s truly Orwellian, and it is, I fear, the shape of the world to come. So now is the time for us to begin developing mechanisms to respond to it within the faith communities around the world,” Schneck stated.

Story by Lynn Arias

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