China said Wednesday it has sanctioned the Rev. Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader who twice served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and as a liaison for President Donald Trump.
Under the sanction, Mr. Moore won’t be allowed to visit mainland China or its special administrative regions of Hong Kong or Macau.
The Reuters news agency said the move was in retaliation for U.S. sanctions imposed on Yu Hui, described as “a former Chinese official” who was involved in detaining followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s annual reports regularly cite China as one of the worst violators of religious liberty.
“It is an honor to be sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party for giving my voice to the Uyghur Muslims, Christians (including Jimmy Lai), Tibetan Buddhists & countless others the CCP tries to silence every day,” Mr. Moore said.
“The CCP doesn’t understand the difference between ’the truth’ and a ’lie’ but here’s some truth we know: they are weaker than they want us to believe that they are,” he said. “A global coalition is building to hold them to account, and it transcends political parties and U.S. administrations. This Great Wall of Collaboration is a promise to future generations that we will not hand our world to the CCP to victimize the innocent as they please.”
Mr. Moore tweeted that his service on the commission ended “several weeks ago.”
He now runs The Kairos Co., a public relations firm, and is president of The Congress of Christian Leaders, headquartered in Glendale, California.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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