Asa Hutchinson: “Tuesday, the New York Times stated that the State Department would issue its first report on the worldwide persecution…”

“Tuesday, the New York Times stated that the State Department would issue its first report on the worldwide persecution of Christians and this report would be sharply critical of China. That report was, in fact, released this past Wednesday, and I urge all of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate to read this report. This is the same report that the State Department originally promised to release to Congress on January 15, over 6 months ago. It is the same report that the State Department promised to release by the end of June, and the same report that the State Department promised to release before the House voted on China's most-favored-nation trading status. On June 18 of this year, my good friend and colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, and I sent a letter to both the President and to the Secretary of State, expressing our grave concerns about recent reports that suggested that the State Department was deliberately delaying the release of its findings on religious persecution throughout the world. It was my understanding that this report placed a specific focus on the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities around the world, and that the report singled out China for especially tough criticism. It is, in fact, the case, as the report has been issued and as I have surveyed that report, that that criticism is even more scathing than what had been anticipated.”