APRFF panel with parliamentarians and government leaders discussing religious freedom and diplomacy.

Expose, Equip
First annual APRFF held in Taiwan

From Feb. 18–21, China Aid and the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) co-hosted the first annual Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum (APRFF), an invitation-only gathering of advocates committed to promoting religious freedom.

The forum, held in Taiwan, gathered hundreds of participants from 27 countries, bringing together parliamentarians and other government representatives, leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and religious leaders in order to address the deteriorating state of human rights and religious freedom in the Asia Pacific region.

Religious leaders such as Bishop Efraim Tendero, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance; NGO leaders such as Freedom House president Mark Lagon; U.S. government officials such as Katrina Lantos Swett of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; and Parliamentarians and government leaders representing the countries of Italy, Norway, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, Pakistan, and the Netherlands participated.

The APRFF established and reinforced networks of advocates, created mechanisms to advance religious freedom and explored how it relates to advocacy efforts, refugees, diplomatic engagement and socio-economic impact. China Aid organizes and participates in advocacy efforts such as the APRFF to help expose abuses of human rights and help equip leaders to fight for change.