At the International Republican Institute’s 2025 Religious Freedom Conference, Faith Under Siege: Confronting Religious Persecution and Oppression in China in Washington, D.C., NED President and CEO Damon Wilson spoke on the power of faith as a force for freedom, the Chinese Communist Party’s fear of independent belief, and the urgent responsibility of democracies to stand with those facing persecution for their religious convictions.
Hosted by IRI—one of the NED’s four core institutes—the conference highlighted the CCP’s intensifying efforts to suppress religious belief, from detaining Uyghur Muslims and dismantling Christian house churches to seeking control the Dalai Lama’s succession and imprisoning pastors.
Below are Damon Wilson’s prepared remarks, as delivered on September 30, 2025. They have been lightly edited for clarity and online format:
Thank you to the International Republican Institute—Dan Twining, Adam King, and Mustafa Aksu—and all the partners who made this gathering, Faith Under Siege, possible.
I want to acknowledge Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, who along with former Senator Sam Brownback, is a force behind the International Religious Freedom summit, which we are proud to partner with.
But we are here today because of all of you in this room. So many of you have made great sacrifices to stand up to defend your faith. So many of you have family and friends who are persecuted because of how they worship.
For me, it’s personal to be with you today. My grandfather was a Covenanter minister, a denomination whose origins date to persecuted Calvinists who sought refuge in the United States. I served as the youth minister in my hometown church.
And I am proud to be at the National Endowment for Democracy, where we support one of the largest communities around the world working to advance religious freedom.
As you well understand, that is because faith is among the most powerful forces in favor of freedom.
Think about it. When a government authority tries to prevent you from worshipping as your faith dictates, conducting family rituals in places of worship, or gathering with others who share your faith… how would you feel?
We saw such an example, in September 2023, in a remote area of Tibet, when a prominent local Buddhist leader convened a Kalachakra teaching, a significant religious ritual.
Local CCP authorities and police were surprised by the size of the crowd and tried to institute roadblocks, but it was too late. Drone footage captured imagery of nearly 1 million Tibetan Buddhists gathering in dramatic, difficult to reach mountains.
It was the largest gathering of Tibetans—inside Tibet—in decades.
Overwhelmed, the regime was paralyzed. Local authorities could do nothing to prevent the gathering, fearing that aggressive action could trigger mass protest.
This underscores the power of faith in the territories that China controls.
Religious freedom is a cornerstone of human dignity and democracy. Authoritarian regimes around the world see religious communities as threats—independent forces that challenge their control.
From churches and mosques to temples and synagogues, faith-based groups are often on the front lines of defending human rights and democratic values.
And that’s why, since 1983, NED has embodied the vision and values of President Reagan, who supported those persecuted for their faith, making it a core tenant of his engagement with the Soviet Union. NED has stood with courageous partners defending the freedoms of religion, conscience, and thought.
With NED’s support, our partners work to expose persecution by documenting attacks, discrimination, and restrictions on religious freedom. They empower faith-based leaders to serve as forces of freedom, engaging them to promote democratic values and defend human rights. And they unite across differences, bringing together diverse religious communities and civic actors to strengthen broad pro-democracy coalitions.
Through these efforts, they work to ensure that all people—regardless of belief—can fully participate in civic and political life.
Democratic societies cannot exist when people are not free to worship, to practice their faith, and to live, speak and act according to their beliefs.
Protecting freedom of religion requires safeguarding the full range of universal natural human rights—including freedom of speech and of assembly.
Autocrats have always seen this as a threat. This is why we see growing oppression and targeting of religious communities and faith leaders.
This is also why NED’s work spans the globe. In Cuba and Nicaragua, we help strengthen observer networks that hold governments accountable.
In Burma, partners advance justice for atrocities committed against Christians and Rohingya Muslims. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, religious leaders are at the forefront of championing democracy and fair elections. In Vietnam, religious minorities are being equipped to resist repression.
In Pakistan, efforts are building peace and nurturing pluralism in a fractured religious landscape. In Sri Lanka, partners are bridging divides, while in Sudan, they are documenting atrocities against religious communities. And in Nigeria, support is focused on defending persecuted faith groups facing violence and discrimination.
But the biggest threat and the greatest work is in China.
Since Xi Jinping came to power, he has pushed an aggressive agenda to roll back the very little freedom that had existed. He has asserted greater CCP dominance over all aspects of life.
To enforce this ideological agenda, CCP authorities have developed a comprehensive national security architecture, and authorities attempt to control all aspects of religious practice.
China’s revised Religious Affairs Regulations created a framework where all religious practice must take place within the CCP’s tightly controlled venues, or it could be deemed illegal.
In the Uyghur region, the government passed the De-extremification Regulation which prohibited so-called “extremist” behavior, including wearing burkas, having “abnormal beards, and refusing to take part in state cultural, recreational, and educational activities.”
In Tibet, we see the Chinese government tighten its grip on every facet of religion. Nowhere is this clearer than in the regime’s attempt to control the religious process to select the next Dalai Lama. China’s atheist regime openly insists that they—not the Dalai Lama, not Tibetan Buddhists—have the authority to decide his reincarnation.
It is an absurd and dangerous assertion.
The Party is twisting a sacred spiritual tradition into a political weapon to control Buddhism and dismantle the Tibetan democracy movement in exile.
The CCP’s violations of freedom of religion have been at the heart of some of its most widespread and notorious human rights violations. It has detained an estimated two million Uyghurs, often for merely expressing their religious belief. The CCP has destroyed numerous thriving house churches and subjected their pastors to unfair trials.
One example is Early Rain Church, led by pastor Wang Yi, who was sentenced to nine years in prison. In one of his last sermons before being detained, pastor Wang Yi said that: “…the rulers of this country are waging a war…in Xinjiang, in Tibet, in Shanghai, in Beijing, in Chengdu, and the rulers who are waging this war have chosen for themselves an enemy that can never be imprisoned, an enemy that can never be destroyed, an enemy that can never be controlled or subdued, namely, the soul of human beings.”
Pastor Wang Yi is now in prison, but he is not subdued.
Just a few weeks ago, the NED Board of Directors had a powerful discussion with advocates on the front lines of the fight for religious freedom in China. A key question arose: why is the CCP so threatened by religion that it brutally targets Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners?
The answer is simple. The regime fears the power of faith. Faith is an independent source of belief, values, and moral authority outside the Party’s control. Faith can unite. Faith can organize. Faith can mobilize people including driving resistance against authoritarianism.
The Party knows the immense power of faith. That is why it works to “Sinicize” religion, forcing it to conform to Party ideology. And why the Party reaches across borders, engaging in transnational repression to silence Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other “dissenters,” wherever they are in the world.
The CCP demands absolute control. To them, faith is not just a challenge. It is an existential threat to their grip on power.
When Uyghur imams are imprisoned, when Tibetans are beaten by police for refusing to denounce the Dalai Lama; when political prisoners in Hong Kong like Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai are in solitary confinement, and not allowed to take holy communion…What should our response be? We owe them our solidarity. They are in our prayers.
But more than that, their bravery and their faith is showing us the limits of authoritarianism. We, here in Washington and across the Free World, at a time when authoritarian powers are on the move, should do everything possible to stand with these brave people who refuse to be controlled.
At NED, this means we will continue to support our partners to provide assistance to victims of persecution on the ground. We will support partners to document right abuses, galvanize international opinion, and hold perpetrators accountable.
Our partners’ faith will not waiver. In turn, our solidarity, our resolve, and, yes, our support, should not waiver. And that’s why today’s gathering, here on Capitol Hill, is so important. And why on November 4, we invite you to join us as NED hosts our annual Democracy Awards to honor “faith, freedom, and courage under CCP repression.” Thank you.
Images are for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect an official NED endorsement or affiliation with the content.
