Religious freedom commission says China's insistence that it avoid visiting the city is an 'unacceptable' condition
A high-level US government commission involved in monitoring religious freedom has cancelled what would have been a breakthrough visit to Beijing this week, citing 'unacceptable' last-minute conditions placed on the trip by the mainland government.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was scheduled to meet several high-ranking central government officials, said one of the reasons for its decision was that it was being pressured not to visit Hong Kong.
It said that two weeks ago, the Chinese government had started to 'strongly discourage' the trip to Hong Kong. '[It] then moved from discouragement to 'insistence' that the commission drop Hong Kong from its itinerary,' the commission said in a statement.
Analysts said the trip, which was due to follow a well-received visit by Washington's influential Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to Beijing late last month, might have been scuppered by officials concerned about the commission's requests for information on China's underground Catholic churches.
The US consulate in Hong Kong said yesterday the proposed visit had been put on hold as a result of itinerary problems. 'The US government hopes the meeting will take place as soon as possible,' spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said.
The commission, however, was more blunt.
