The leader of the banned South China Church, Gong Shengliang, is evil and deserves the heavy jail sentence he received, says Ye Xiaowen, the Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs.
Mr Ye, who is leading an official delegation to the United States, was quoted by Xinhua as saying that Gong, who was sentenced to life in prison last October on assault and rape charges, was no religious leader but an evil criminal.
Speaking at a news conference organised by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Mr Ye denied that Gong was jailed for his religious beliefs.
The director, who is tipped for promotion in a new round of government reshuffles to be announced next month, said US media had misreported Gong's case, as well as that of two Tibetans who were sentenced to death for terrorist activities.
Mr Ye showed the media alleged pictures of Gong's victims. He said Gong forced his followers to beat up people who disagreed with him, and preached that female followers should have sex with him to show their faith.
Mr Ye also disputed claims by Tibetans in exile that Buddhist leader Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and religious teacher Lobsang Dhondup had been wrongly accused.
