Capital: Beijing
Population: 1,321,851,888
Religions: Non-Religious, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam
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Languages: Mandarin, Yue (Cantonese), Wu, Minbei, Minnan
Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese, Tai, Tibeto-Burman, Hmong-Mien, Zhuang, Uyghur, Hui
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State Department (DOS) Religious Freedom Reports:
2007
2004
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Recommendations Report:
2005
Religious Atmosphere:
· Buddhism is the country?s dominant religion with around 100 million adherents. Islam is practiced by approximately 20 million people. The government allows for the practice of Christianity as long as it is done under the auspices of the state controlled churches. The Catholic Patriotic Association, which does not recognize the authority of the Vatican, claims some 5 million adherents while the Three-Self Patriotic Movement claims between 10-15 million Protestant worshippers. Unofficial Catholics (those who are affiliated with the Vatican) number around 10 million while Protestant house churches may have as many as 30 million members. Folk religions and Taoism are also practiced by a larger number of people. Practitioners of eastern religions usually receive less interference from the government than "foreign" religions like Christianity and Islam. Tibetan Buddhism, however, is not tolerated by the government.
Extremist Groups:
· No extremist groups have been cited for incidents of persecution in China.
Government:
- While the constitution states that citizens enjoy total religious freedom, the government has consistently attempted to restrict all religious practice to government-authorized religious organizations and registered places of worship.
- All religions are required to register with government religious affairs bureaus and accept the supervision of official religious organizations. Many groups have resisted this action on the grounds of opposing state control of religion, being unwilling to limit their activities, or refusing to compromise their positions on issues which don't agree with that of the government.
- The Communist Party officially states that party membership and religious belief are incompatible. This is a considerable concern for believers since Party membership is required for almost all high-level positions. Even so, a 1995 government survey showed that 20 percent of the Communist Party engages in some kind of religious activity.
- Foreigners are not allowed to proselytize. They are allowed to preach to other foreigners, bring in religious materials for their own use, and preach to Chinese at the invitation of a registered religious organization.
- In the province of Guangdong, there are the national regulations on religions, along with additional local regulations. Illegal materials (any unapproved foreign religious material) cannot be sold, distributed, copied, or shipped. Chinese residents cannot accept any outside money or assistance from foreigners or foreign organizations. The existence of any unapproved religious organization or personnel is illegal. Foreigners cannot establish a religious organization, churches, appoint any pastors/leaders, distribute religious materials, train disciples, or conduct any other religious activities. Foreign organizations cannot recruit religious students from overseas to attend religious universities in China without the approval of the Chinese government. All of these crimes are punishable by fines of $2,200 to $11,000.
- The seminaries are largely government controlled. To qualify for the clergy, one must demonstrate "political reliability" and pass an examination of their political knowledge.
- Provincial governments have taken extreme means to eradicate the underground Catholic Church in their jurisdiction. Taken from the plans in the Donglai township, the following actions were recommended: Registering and setting up a file for each religious believer, and investigating the background of out-of-town Catholics. These plans also call for disintegrating the underground religious influences by uniting the majority through education, isolating and attacking the extremists, developing overall education, organizing specialists, and using "any other conceivable means."
- The government-run Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) are attempting to unite the 80 million members of the underground church by offering reconciliation, the promise of allowed registration for house churches, and a halt to make Chinese theology more socialist, the movement that was lead by Bishop Ding. Many underground members are concerned the unification will restrict evangelization methods.
U.S. DOS and USCIRF Reports:
· The Chinese government continues to engage in severe violations of religious freedom in 2004. Government officials retain tight control and restrict the activities of all religious communities. Religious leaders and laypersons continue to be harassed, detained, and tortured due to their religious belief. The government increases its persecution of the unregistered Roman Catholic Church, which pledges to follow the Vatican. There are currently at least 20 Catholic bishops under arrest, including Bishop Su Zhimin, who has been in prison since 1970s. In 2004, the repression of Christians escalates in Hebei, Fujian, and Heilongjiang provinces where many were arrested, including 12 priests attending a religious retreat.
· Conditions for unregistered Protestant groups have worsened in 2004. Protestant Christians who refuse to register with the Government (the State Administration for Religious Activities, formerly known as the central Religious Affairs Bureau) have been harassed and detained. The government closed places of worship and have cracked down hard on house churches in various parts of the country. At least 100 pastors were arrested in 2004 in Heilongjiang, Hubei, Xinjiang, and in Henan Province. In September 2003, house church leader Zhang Yinan was arrested with 100 Christians in Nanyang and was sentenced to two years of ?re-education? through labor. In August 2004, house church activist Liu Fenggang and others were sentenced up to three years in prison for sending information of Christian persecution to organizations in the United States. There is a report of a Christian in Guizhou died from torture by the police. She was arrested for distributing Bibles. In 2003, in Zhejiang, local officials demolished a few unregistered churches and claimed that the destroyed churches were not zoned for religious activities.
· In November 2004, the Chinese government issued a new set of regulations on religion. The government claimed the new laws were issued to protect the rights of religious adherents. The new provisions allow religious groups to provide social services locally and receive financial support from foreign religious institutions; however, Party officials will have more control over religious activities and citizens who refuse to register with the official religious organizations will be fined and penalized.
· The Chinese government suspended the official US.-China Human Rights Dialogue, which has religious freedom as a top agenda item in March 2004 after the US. decided to introduce a resolution against China at the UN Commission on Human Rights. The resolution was a result of ?China?s failure to meet the commitments made at the U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue in December 2002.? Since 1999, the Secretary of State has designated China a ?Country of Particular Concern? under the International Religious Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
Year 2007 Update:
Spring 2007 ? China House Church Alliance (CHCA) members detained and interrogated, particularly about their affiliation with foreigners and plans to aggravate the 2008 Olympic Games.
June 29, 2007 ? Zhang Geming and Sun Qingwen, two house church leaders, were sentenced by the Shandong government to 1 year of reeducation through labor. They were charged with ?using an evil cult to obstruct the law.?
May 2007 ? 30 house church leaders arrested by police in Aksu City, Xinjiang. Six of the house church leaders were charged with ?evil cult activities.? Two of the arrested leaders were allegedly physically abused during their interrogation.
China was designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the U.S. State Department since 1999 and remains a CPC in the year 2007.
According to the International Religious Freedom Report, government protection religious freedom remained poor in the year 2007.
Suggested Actions You Might Take:
- Pray for the Christians of China that they may be protected from harm and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all. Pray especially for the security and well being of the underground house church leaders who are currently in prison for their faith.
- Write a respectful letter to one or more of the government officials listed below. Express your continuing concern for the safety and well being of the Christian community in China. Request information about what steps the government is taking to ensure their protection and freedom to practice their faith as laid out in the UN?s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
- Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in China asking them to make an inquiry into their status.
- Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.
Official Contacts:
President of the People`s Republic of China:
President Hu Jintao
The State Council General Office
Yongneixijie
Beijingshi 100017
People`s Republic of China
Telegram: President Hu Jintao, Beijing, China
(Salutation: Your Excellency)
Permanent Mission of China to UN
Ambassador Wang Guangya
350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-655-6100
Fax: 212-634-7626
Email: chinamission_un@fmprc.gov.cn
Wen Jiabao
Premier People''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s Republic of China
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s Republic of China
Fax: 86-10-6-512-5810
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Zhou Wenzhong
Premier, People`s Republic of China
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People`s Republic of China
Fax: 86-10-6-512-5810
Li Zhaozing
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s Republic of China
No. 2, Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Beijing 100701
People''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s Republic of China
Tel: 86-10-6-596-1114
Email: webmaster@mfa.gov.cn
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*We make every attempt to keep up with and reflect changes in the national government of
each country and the current human rights situation. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact us by e-mail at ICC@PERSECUTION.ORG . Thanks.
POSTED: May 27,2004
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