Welcome to China Voices, a quarterly update on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in China produced by CSW.
This update is based on research and opinion from reliable sources* with first-hand information (**indicating Chinese links). As media coverage of China issues intensifies, we want to ensure that the voices and views of the people most affected by FoRB restrictions are at the centre of the conversation.
We should point out that this update is not intended to be an exhaustive list of recent cases and developments, and we have deliberately chosen to focus on issues which are receiving less attention from the international community.
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On 24 June, China’s State Council issued a white paper on the CCP’s practice in respecting and protecting human rights. It declares that China always “follows the policies of separation of government from religion and of freedom of religious belief”, and that “the state protects citizens’ normal religious activities… does not interfere in the internal affairs of religions”. Do these claims reflect the reality?
During the last few months, ‘stability maintenance’ has increased to a new level in China due to a cluster of important anniversaries.
This year, 23 May marks 70 years of CCP control in Tibet, labelled as ‘peaceful liberation’ by the Chinese government but considered by many Tibetans in exile to be oppressive occupation of their land. 4 June marks 32 years since the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 (known as ‘June Fourth’ in China); and 1 July marks 100 years since the CCP’s founding, 24 years since Hong Kong’s handover, and one year of the National Security Law (NSL) imposed on Hong Kong.
The most striking changes have taken place in Hong Kong. With mass arrests, newspaper raids, banned protests, and vigil leaders sentenced for commemorating the victims of ‘June Fourth’, Victoria Park was empty on 4 June for the first time in 32 years. Falun Gong practitioners, among others, face increasing infringements of FoRB in Hong Kong (see Part 5).
On the mainland, people who fight against this enforced amnesia were silenced as usual, including Gao Heng, a Christian in Guangzhou who was arrested shortly after holding a placard calling for prayer for the nation on 4 June. Across the country, human rights defenders and people perceived to be dissidents (including some house church leaders) were sent on ‘enforced vacation’ or placed under house arrest (see Part 4 for Wu Wuqing’s case).
During Q2 2021, we have seen reports of:
- a whole Christian congregation fleeing FoRB violations in Shenzhen, one of the most vibrant and forward-looking cities in China;
- several Hong Kong church leaders including the former head of the Baptist Convention in self- imposed exile over NSL fears;
- a Catholic in Zhejiang heavily fined for letting an underground bishop hold a mass in his private chapel;
- more ‘illegal social organisations’ banned**, including three churches and one Buddhist group in Yanbian, Jilin province;
- four Tibetans detained by police in Qinghai for burning incense and praying on a mountain;
- first-hand testimony of alleged crimes in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) told at the London-based Uyghur Tribunal.
None of these issues would be reflected upon during the CCP’s 100th celebrations. Nevertheless, religion or belief communities have keenly felt the impact of the party-state’s centennial.
- House churches in Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hubei provinces have been warned by religious affairs officials not to hold gatherings with the goal being “let the number of house churches return to zero as a birthday present to the Party”.
- The slogan of ‘Return to Zero’ has also been used by the Chinese authorities to show their ruthless determination in cracking down on banned faith groups (read about the situation for Falun Gong in Part 5).
- More Tibetans have reportedly been detained or imprisoned for online messages amid the authorities’ crackdown on ‘activities to split the country’ (see Part 4).
Click to download the China Voices Quarterly of Q2, 2021.
