U.S. Religious Freedom Advocates Discuss Impact of 9/11

Voice of America Chinese website released a video: U.S. religious freedom advocates discuss the impact of 9/11.

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Twenty-five years ago, the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed America and the lives of many. On Thursday, at a luncheon in Washington, former U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback and Pastor Jin Mingri, who was recently released, discussed the implications of 9/11 for religious freedom and human rights.

I think we did a very good job, and although there were some sporadic attacks during that period, we haven't had an attack like 9/11 in the past 25 years. We shifted to offense. Before that, we were attacked, but we didn't respond effectively. After 9/11, we made it clear that we would not tolerate this anymore, we would respond, and we would respond strongly, and we did. Shifting to offense actually brought greater protection. We need to adopt this approach around the world, and that's what we've been doing.

We were still in Beijing at the time, and it also caused a great shock to us. We also read Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" at the time and discussed it a lot. But when we actually saw the buildings destroyed, the shock was immense. This also affected America, and now it affects China. The whole world could no longer go back to the past.

For many survivors and those who have long followed religious freedom, commemorating 9/11 is not only about looking back at the past but also about reflecting on the present and how the United States should face the issues between security, freedom, and human rights in the future. Reported by Xu Xiangyun from Washington.