China opposes U.S. interference in internal affairs by using religious issues

China opposes the U.S. side using "religious issues" to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Christians United for Israel's annual summit, Monday, July 8, 2019, in Washington. [File photo: AP/Patrick Semansky]

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told the press on Wednesday in California that "America is a beacon of freedom for all the world" and that the U.S. administration had spoken out on religious liberty around the world.

Pence added that there will be a ministerial conference in Washington, D.C. next week. "We'll be addressing these issues in China and, frankly, all over the world," he said.

"The United States claims to be a beacon of freedom for the world, but the beacon doesn't seem to be working very well," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a press briefing.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang during a press briefing in Beijing on Friday, July 12, 2019 [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

The United States doesn't have the responsibility, the authorization nor the capability to address the issues in China and the whole world, Geng said. "The United States should put its own house in order first."

China has always opposed the U.S. side using "religious issues" to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, Geng stressed.

China urges the U.S. side to respect facts, discard prejudice, take an objective and fair view of the religious policies and religious freedom in China and other countries, and do more things that are conducive to the development of China-U.S. relations and the friendship among all countries, Geng said.