Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports of harassment of members of Early Rain Church in China during the pandemic; and whether he has made representations to his Chinese counterpart about the alleged harassment.

We are aware of credible reports of the closure or demolition of unregistered churches in some areas of China, including the Early Rain Covenant Church and the arrest and detention of it's Pastor Wang Yi.

In January 2020 Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, raised concerns about his sentence to 9 years in prison after a secret trial. We regularly raise our concerns about restrictions on freedom of religion and belief with the Chinese authorities.