{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415094", "CatholicVote article on Smith's upcoming CECC hearing'Rep. Smith to co-chair hearing over China\u2019s war on religion'", "2025-11-18", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "By Elise Winland\n\nPublished November 18, 2025\n\nRepublican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, a Catholic, will co-chair a Nov. 20 congressional hearing examining what lawmakers call the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP) escalating \u201cwar\u201d on religious believers.\n\nIn a press release, Smith\u2019s office said the CCP has \u201cintensified its drive for absolute control over religion, insisting that believers subordinate conscience and conviction to the Party and to General Secretary Xi Jinping.\u201d\n\nThe statement described religious persecution as \u201ca core feature of Party rule,\u201d pointing to sweeping regulations, detentions, surveillance, and harassment targeting Christians and other faith communities.\n\nThe hearing will focus on four areas: the CCP\u2019s coercive control over religion, its repression of Chinese believers abroad, the national-security implications of Beijing exporting its model of religious persecution, and policy recommendations for a stronger U.S. response.\n\nThe review comes weeks after the U.S. State Department condemned the CCP after reports emerged that authorities had detained roughly 30 Christian leaders across several major cities.\n\nIn its latest annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said several regimes, including China, have systematically targeted religious believers. The review found that the CCP has imprisoned Christians, imposed forced indoctrination, and restricted worship across the country. One of those imprisoned is Catholic Chinese dissident Jimmy Lai, who has been held in a Hong Kong prison for about five years and now awaits sentencing.\n\nThe CCP has also continued to justify religious repression through official messaging. As CatholicVote previously reported, an official Chinese outlet said Xi delivered a Sept. 29 speech calling for new steps to force religions in China to \u201cadapt to a socialist society.\u201d\n\nThis article was published on November 18, 2025 and can be found online at: https://catholicvote.org/rep-smith-to-co-chair-hearing-over-chinas-war-on-religion/", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415094"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7999101653695107, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}