Chen Guangyuan, chairman of the China Islamic Association, said: "The chapters concerning China in the report shocked me because they are so unfair and blind to the truth.

"The past two decades were a golden period for religious activities in China. The situation in China cannot be denied through the fabrications of some people across the Pacific.''

In an annual report issued early this month, the US commission -- a federal government agency -- accused China of being "a particularly severe violator of religious freedom.''

The report said members of religious groups -- including Protestants, Catholics and Tibetan Buddhists are "confined, tortured, imprisoned and subject to other forms of ill treatment'' in China.

It carped at China's ban on the Falun Gong cult and listed China as one of 12 "countries of particular concern,'' together with Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan.

Religious leaders condemned the report for making unfounded charges about China.

The report repeatedly used the word "reportedly'' in the cases it collected as evidence of China's "crackdown'' on religious freedom. The allegedly persecuted religious people in the report have been found to have committed serious crimes, such as rape and causing explosions.

Gao Ying, a Protestant pastor in Beijing and a member of the China Christian Association standing committee, said: "Every criminal is subject to punishment by the law, whether or not he is religious.''

She said it is "unacceptable'' to Chinese Christians that some US politicians attempt to mix up criminal cases with religious beliefs and interfere into China's religious affairs in this way.

Religious freedom is a constitutional right in China. There are currently more than more than 3,000 religious groups in the country, accounting for over 100 million people. About 17,000 religious people have positions in national and local congresses and political consultative committees.

Ma Yinglin, a priest and secretary-general of the China Catholic Bishops Conference, said: "We suggest that certain politicians in the US Government refrain from imposing double standards but instead respect the culture of other nations and mind their own business.''

(China Daily May 23, 2003)