BEIJING, Friday, Aug. 8 — A United States commission that planned to examine religious freedom in China called off its visit after the Chinese authorities imposed "unacceptable last-minute conditions" on the trip, commission officials said today.
The Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal agency, indefinitely postponed a visit to China that had been the subject of diplomatic negotiations for six months. The visit had been scheduled to take place next week.
The commission said in a statement, which it plans to release in Washington today, that China had introduced 11th-hour restrictions on the group's itinerary, including pressure not to visit Hong Kong. China has controlled Hong Kong since the end of British colonial rule in 1997, but it is governed under a separate administration.
"This action on the part of the Chinese government suggests a degree of Chinese control over foreign access to Hong Kong that is unprecedented and in contradiction to the concept of `one country, two systems,' " said Michael K. Young, the chairman of the commission. "It further raises the concern that just six years after the handover, Hong Kong's autonomy is already seriously in doubt."
It is not clear why the Beijing authorities blocked the visit to Hong Kong. But the authorities have in the past been concerned about foreign groups' using Hong Kong's relatively open media, which are widely distributed in southern China, as a platform to criticize China.
The commission said the Chinese authorities had also not provided a final list of confirmed meetings with government and Communist Party officials responsible for religious policy. In addition, it said, they did not offer assurances that members of the commission would be able to visit places of worship and talk with nongovernment religious leaders without interference.
"In light of the circumstances and last-minute limitations, the commission could not accede the conditions, and the trip was postponed," the statement said.