Taiwan delegation attends US global religious meeting, promotes religious freedom

台灣代表出席美國全球宗教會議，促進宗教自由

Taiwan is one of over 80 countries invited to attend the meeting


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – With the U.S.-hosted “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” drawing to a conclusion, the Holy See’s Secretariat of State Paul Gallagher stressed that religious freedom is the foundation for prosperity of mankind and that everyone has the right to breathe the air of freedom regardless of religion, reports said Tuesday.

The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the first such meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of State and attended by religious authorities from over 80 countries, took place between July 24 and 26, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of State.

Taiwan, which agrees with the Holy See on issues of religious freedom, has spared no effort advocating for the right to worship freely, said Matthew Lee (李世明), the Ambassadorof Taiwan to theVatican. Representative Stanley Kao (高碩泰) of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. was among the dignitaries attending the meeting dedicated to promoting religious freedom, reports theCentral News Agency.

A joint statement was released following the meeting, along with individual reports on the religious situations indifferentcountries of the world. The report for China indicated that a great number of religious and minority ethnic groups have been suffering from oppression by the Chinese government, including Catholics, Christians,Muslims (especially Uyghurs), Buddhistsin Tibet, and Falun Gong practicioners, wrote CNA.