ChinaAid rep.: ‘Pray we are standing firm’
WASHINGTON (BP)--Persecution of Christians in China is still a widespread problem and an ignored topic in the secular media, said Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, in an interview with BP.
Chinese lawyer gets religious liberty award
WASHINGTON (BP)--Fan Yafeng, a Chinese human rights lawyer and religious liberty advocate, has received the 2009 John Leland Religious Liberty Award for his defense of persecuted Christians in China. Richard Land, president of Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, presented the award during an April 14 ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.
Repression of human rights on rise, State Dept. says
WASHINGTON (BP)--The annual human rights report by the U.S. State Department has cited increased repression in countries around the world, including China and North Korea. "There are several trends that we identify in the report. One is that increasingly, governments are becoming more restrictive in their tolerance of nongovernmental human rights organizations, in particular," said Michael Posner, assistant secretary from the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, at a news conference for the 2009 report's release. The report, which is a requirement by Congress, is an annual evaluation of human rights in 194 countries. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also spoke at the news conference, described the report as an "essential tool" for activists who work to protect human rights. According to the report, there were alarming accounts of imprisonment, attacks and killings in "countries of conflict," such as China and North Korea, as well as Iran and Russia. "In many of these conflict zones, insurgents, terrorist organizations, paramilitary forces, and government security forces used murder, rape, and inhumane tactics to assert control over territory, silence opponents, and coerce the cooperation of civilian communities ...," the report said. The report criticized China's government for its increased persecution of its citizens last year. The government's human rights record "remained poor and worsened in some areas." Chinese activists, journalists and public interest lawyers were harassed and imprisoned, and there were reports of religious abuse of ethnic minorities.
USCIRF: Increase focus on Iran
WASHINGTON (BP)--The call for human rights scrutiny of Iran is a longstanding one, panelists said at a hearing of the congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
Millennials traditional on some faith beliefs
WASHINGTON (BP)–Young adults today are considered less religious than previous generations, but a recent report shows Americans age 18 to 29 still remain traditional on a few religious beliefs. “Though young adults pray less often than their elders do today, the number of young adults who say they pray every day rivals the portion of […]
Researcher reverses, now finds abortion-breast cancer link
WASHINGTON (BP)–National Cancer Institute researcher Louise Brinton, who previously rejected a connection between abortion and breast cancer, apparently has changed her position. Brinton organized a National Cancer Institute (NCI) workshop in 2003 on whether there is a link between abortion and breast cancer. Her findings, announced at that event, concluded a relationship between abortion and […]