The First Ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom ‘Sends a Message to the World’

Greg Mitchell, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, hosts the “Religious Persecution in China” roundtable at the Russell Senate Office Building, in Washington on July 23, 2018. Wu Wei/NTD

WASHINGTON—A roundtable focusing on religious persecution in China set the stage on July 23 for the U.S. Department of State’s first ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The ministerial signals that the Trump administration intends to place religious freedom at the center of its foreign policy agenda.

Greg Mitchell, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in Washington, hosted the event, which he described as the “kick off” for the ministerial. Dozens of human rights experts and advocates, as well as victims of religious persecution in China, shared their views and personal stories.