(Radio Iowa) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the latest Republican to speak at an annual gathering of Iowa religious conservatives that presidential candidates like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have addressed in the past. Pompeo’s remarks to the summit sponsored by The Family Leader emphasized religious liberty concerns. “Right now, four out of five people around the world don’t enjoy full religious freedom,” he said, “and we’re fighting tooth and nail to change that.”

Sec. of State Mike Pompeo

Pompeo specifically criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s actions in Hong Kong and threats against Taiwan. “We’ve called out China’s war on faith, its mass detention of Uighurs,” Pompeo said. “Its godless decisions to replace church displays of the Ten Commandments with word from General Secretary Xi have not gone without being called out.”

Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, told the crowd the Trump Administration also been focused on a critical mission to bring fairness into U.S. trade relationship with China.According to The Family Leader, Pompeo addressed a crowd of about 650 late Friday afternoon in West Des Moines. Pompeo also met privately Friday afternoon with members of the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Soybean Association.