Religious groups approved by the Chinese government have hit back at a United States report criticising China for restricting freedom of worship.
The heads of China’s Islamic, Christian and Tibetan Buddhist groups have been quoted in state media as saying the reports are unfair, blind to the truth and based on hearsay and conjecture.
Earlier this month, the semi-official US Commission on International Religious Freedom accused China of torturing, imprisoning and mistreating religious practitioners such as Protestants, Catholics and Tibetan Buddhists.
The China Daily quoted religious leaders including the head of the China Islamic Association as saying the past two decades have been a golden period for religious activities in China.
The China Daily also said the allegedly persecuted religious people in the US report had been found to have committed serious crimes.
