by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A pastor who led his entire church of over 60 people out of China to escape persecution there has testified to US Congress members that “there is no religious freedom” in his country of origin, the Washington Times reports.
Pastor of the Chinese “Mayflower” church, Rev. Pan Youngguang and all his congregants were granted asylum in the US in April after fleeing China and unsuccessfully seeking refugee status first in South Korea and then in Thailand, the Times reports.
During a round table session of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Pastor Yongguang explaine: “There is a real price to pay for being a true Christian in China, and as a pastor, I am especially aware of this. Churches are often forced to stop [holding] services, they are relocated, banned and closed. And even their church offerings are not allowed to be collected.”
Pastor Youngguang added that the CCP considers his ordination by the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the US to be an act of “colluding with anti-Chinese forces overseas,” and harassed him and his parishioners accordingly, the Times report.
During the round table session, the House Select Committee also heard from a Uyghur Muslim Imam, a Tibetan Buddhist, and a number of American leaders who raised issues concerning CCP violations of religious freedom, the Times said.
Ruled by the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP) China ranks 16th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.