China Tightens the Screws on Religion

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HinduThought, "Ashok Chowgule" <ashokvc@c...>

wrote:

So, will the USA government deny visa to the senior Chinese leadership?

 

Namaste.

Ashok Chowgule

 

 

China Tightens the Screws on Religion

Believers Continue to Face Tough Restrictions

 

BEIJING, MARCH 19, 2005 (Zenit.org).- On March 1 a new law governing

religious freedom entered into force in China. According to human rights

groups the new regulations promise little improvement for believers who

do not wish to follow the official government policy. In fact, the

government in recent months seems determined to keep a firm control over

religious activities.

 

A Jan. 17 analysis of the new law by the U.S.-based rights group Compass

Direct noted that the "Religious Affairs Provisions" were hailed by the

government-run New China News Agency as "a significant step forward in

the protection of Chinese citizens' religious freedom."

 

But a close look at the provisions of the new law reveals that, apart

from minor modifications, very little is different. Some of the new

regulations, in fact, are even more restrictive than the ones they

replace, observed Compass Direct.

 

The guiding principle of the law is contained in Article 3: "Religious

bodies, religious venues and believers must uphold the constitution,

laws and regulations to safeguard national unity, harmony between the

national minorities, and social stability." The same article also

explains that the state will protect normal religious activities. But

what is "normal" is never defined, leaving such a judgment completely in

the hands of authorities.

 

Registration of religious groups is still required and restrictions on

publishing religious material continue. And for those believers who

participate in organizations that do not have official approval the

regulations contain severe measures, including heavy fines and the

confiscation of property.

 

The improvements include a safeguarding of property rights, but only of

those religious groups with official registration. Recognized

organizations are now allowed to set up social service projects, such as

schools and clinics.

 

The law also maintains China's determination to prohibit overseas

contacts. The regulations ban the unofficial organization of overseas

pilgrimages, a measure aimed at the more than 20 million Muslims who may

wish to travel to Mecca, according to Compass Direct.

 

In its Jan. 18 analysis of the new law, the Norway-based rights group

F18 observed that the regulations maintain the requirement that Chinese

religious organizations should function independent of "foreign forces."

This places severe strains on Catholics in China, since it means "they

must either sever all ties with the Vatican or seek papal recognition

privately," F18 noted.

 

Another organization, Human Rights in China, published its analysis of

the new law last Monday. The group, founded by Chinese scientists and

scholars, affirmed that "the Chinese central government has again

drafted a document not to protect, but to regulate all religious

activities."

 

The organization also noted that the regulations are framed in such a

way to leave the door open to arbitrary interpretation and

implementation. Overall the group judged that "the premise for the

Chinese government to adopt this new set of regulations is not based on

the desire to make freedom of religion available to its citizens, but is

motivated by its overarching need to regulate freedom of association in

the name of national security and public order."

 

Persecution continues

 

Recent events show the government's determination to keep a firm control

over religious activities. BBC last Nov. 9 reported on Peter Xu Yongze

and his encounter with torture in prison. "They hung me up across an

iron gate," he told BBC, "then they yanked open the gate and my whole

body lifted until my chest nearly split in two. I hung like that for

four hours." A evangelical Protestant and leader of a large group, Xu,

who now lives in the United States, was imprisoned on five occasions.

 

Wilfred Wong, a parliamentary officer for the interdenominational lobby

group Jubilee Campaign, told BBC that in spite of difficulties the

number of Christians in China has continued to rise. But, he added,

"China's new generation of leaders are trying to consolidate control of

the country as it goes through rapid social and economic changes."

 

Two days later, the Washington Times reported that government officials

arrested a Protestant minister. Cai Zhuohua, a minister to six

unofficial congregations, was detained in Beijing last September,

according to the China Aid Association.

 

The association said that Cai, his wife, and other members of the family

were being held at the Qinghe detention center in Beijing. His arrest

came after authorities discovered 200,000 Bibles and other Christian

literature in a warehouse under his control.

 

On Dec. 19 the London-based Telegraph newspaper published an article

based on an interview with one of the unofficial Catholic bishops in

China, Julius Jia. The bishop has been detained by authorities on more

than 30 occasions and overall has spent more than 20 years in jail.

 

Bishop Jia, 69, is based in Hebei province, in northern China, home to

an estimated 1.5 million Catholics. Here, according to the Telegraph,

divisions between the government-backed Catholic patriotic church and

the underground Church are sharper than anywhere else in the country.

The government has placed the bishop under house arrest near Wuqiu. But

he frequently circumvents the order by going out to say Mass, often

hiding in the back of a car, according to the Telegraph.

 

Hard-line policy

 

Amnesty International, in a report Dec. 21, also noted that Beijing was

continuing its hard-line policy against believers. AI commented that the

official China Daily had referred to the new law as "a significant step

forward in the protection of Chinese citizens' religious freedoms."

 

However, this is in contrast to official actions AI observed, citing the

Dec. 1 arrest of church leader Zhang Rongliang in Henan province. The

leader has already been imprisoned five times for his beliefs, for a

total of 12 years, during which he was severely tortured, declared AI.

The police also raided at least three unofficial "house" churches in

nearby Fangcheng county, around the time they detained Zhang.

 

Action against these unofficial churches has been common. The AI press

release noted that in July 2003 more than a dozen house churches were

reportedly destroyed and at least 300 Christians arrested, some

ill-treated and beaten. Moreover, "the new regulations do nothing to

reduce the restrictions on underground churches or the persecution that

accompany them," AI said.

 

More recent news came in an article published Feb. 15 by the Christian

Post. During a press conference at the National Press Club in

Washington, D.C., members of underground house churches in China

detailed the increasing persecution and torture of Christians.

 

Among those who gave their accounts was Liu Xianzhi, a member of the

South China Church who was arrested in 2001. Liu recounted her

experience of torture, abuse and arbitrary imprisonment by police.

 

The article also noted that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary

Detention stated that China's arbitrary detentions are a violation of

the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.

 

On March 10 the group Human Rights Watch issued a declaration calling on

the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to condemn China during its current

annual meeting in Geneva.

 

In addition to violations of political rights and ill treatment of

racial minorities, Human Rights Watch cited worries over the new law

governing religious expression that took effect March 1. The

requirements placed on organizations by the regulations "are vaguely

worded, allowing authorities extraordinary leeway to shut institutions,

levy fines, dismiss personnel and censor texts," said Human Rights

Watch. Religious tolerance in China remains elusive.

ZE05031903

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