Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest December 01-15
General
11.12.2024 – Religion in China: A taboo that is slowly being revealed
Fsspx.news – The recent renewal for a further four years of the provisional—and controversial—agreement between China and the Holy See provides an opportunity to discuss the current state of religion and religious sentiment in China.
Assessing religious trends in today’s China is a task that deserves to be added to the list of the twelve labors of Hercules, if only to consider the immensity of the Middle Kingdom and the culture of secrecy peculiar to this totalitarian State where religion is still taboo.
05.12.2024 – Human rights lawyers and religious leaders decry systematic accusations of ‘fraud’ against unregistered churches
csw – A group of lawyers, human rights activists and religious leaders have released an open statementdecrying the Chinese government’s systematic violation of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) by accusing house churches not registered under the government of being illegal, and declaring that offerings made to these churches are therefore fraudulent.
The statement, published on X (formerly Twitter) on 1 December by the China Human Rights Lawyers Group (@RightsLawyersCN), states: ‘The logic of the authorities’ accusations is that house church pastors do not have religious clergy qualifications, and the church is not registered, so the collection of offerings by a house church constitutes fraud.’
Taoists
11.12.2024 – The 7th Dongyue Forum: The paradoxical “sinicization of Taoism” continues in China
Bitter Winter – On November 25, the 7th Dongyue Forum and seminar on deepening the Sinicization of Taoism took place at Beijing’s Dongyue Temple. Attendees included Yuan Zhihong, Vice President of the China Taoist Association; Sun Qi, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs; Li Guohong, Member of the Standing Committee of the Chaoyang District Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department; Zheng Xiaojun, Director of the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Cao Zhongjian, former Party Secretary.
Falun Gong
14.12.2024 – Once jailed for 3 years, Jilin woman gets another seven years for practicing Falun Gong
Minghui – Ms. Zhang Xiufang, 63, from Dongfeng County, Jilin Province, was recently sentenced to seven years for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhang a former nurse, was arrested at her home on June 21, 2024, after the police discovered that she mailed letters containing information about Falun Gong. They confiscated two computers and some Falun Gong books. She was detained at the Liaoyuan City Detention Center. She was later indicted by the Longshan District Procuratorate. It was confirmed in early December 2024 that she was sentenced to seven years by the Longshan District Court. She has appealed the verdict.
09.12.2024 – Still mourning daughter’s persecution death at 24, Hubei woman detained again for her faith in Falun Gong
Minghui – Ms. Chen Ye’s friends, who had lost contact with her for more than one month, recently learned that the 60-year-old woman, who lives alone, has been detained again for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Chen, a resident of Xiantao City, Hubei Province, is currently held at an unknown location in the capital city of Wuhan. Her friends are calling on insiders to disclose details of her latest arrest and detention.
Ms. Chen took up Falun Gong in May 1997 and soon recovered from her numerous ailments, including arthritis, migraines, and insomnia. Her bad temper was also gone and she became calmer and more pleasant.
07.12.2024 – Reported in November 2024: 17 Falun Gong practitioners die as a result of persecution
Minghui – Seventeen cases of Falun Gong practitioners who lost their lives to the persecution of their faith were reported in November 2024.
The 17 newly-reported deaths included one that took place in 2010, two in 2023, twelve between March and November 2024, and two cases with unknown dates of death. Due to strict information censorship, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners can’t always be reported on time, nor is all information readily available.
The deceased eleven women and six men came from eight provinces and one centrally-controlled municipality. Liaoning registered the most cases of six, followed by three and two cases in Jilin and Heilongjiang, respectively. The remaining six regions, including Anhui, Hebei, Hubei, Shandong, Shanghai and Sichuan, each had one case.
Buddhists
06.12.2024 – Tibetan monk in poor health after his release from prison
RFA – A Tibetan Buddhist monk imprisoned for sending money for prayer offerings to be made to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of India’s Kirti Monastery has been released from jail but remains in poor health, according to two sources in Tibet familiar with the situation.Rachung Gendun, arrested in April 2021 for allegedly sending donations to the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader and the monastery abbot, was released on Nov. 16, serving three and a half years in prison.
Church of Almighty God
10.12.2024 – Christians arrested after being deported to China, alive or dead remains unknown
adhrrf – Liu Qi, male, 32 years old, a Christian from The Church of Almighty God, had his asylum application denied in Spain. On November 20, 2023, he was arrested by the CCP police after being forcibly sent back to China. Liu Qi, who fled overseas 8 years ago, ends up being caught by the CCP police.
“You’ll Die If You Move Forward. But You Have to Do So.”
Due to the brutal persecution by the CCP government, some Christians from CAG (The Church of Almighty God) had to leave home to seek asylum in South Korea, Japan, Spain, and other countries. Unfortunately, many of their applications were not approved. In October 2023, some of them submitted their asylum applications in Spain but later they were subjected to forcible deportation. Among them, some were even sent back to China. Before being deported, one of them even prepared her last will, because they knew what awaited them ahead was torture, long-term imprisonment and even the end of their lives. “During those days, I felt like I waited for death every day.
Protestants
16.12.2024 – The Chinese Communist party authorities openly set up an ‘anti-cult’ alert education base in the church
China aid – In a rare move, an “Anti-Cult Alert Education Base” was unveiled and established in a Christian church in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. “Anti-Cult Alert Education Bases” have also been launched in regions such as Ningxia, Hebei, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Shanxi provinces.
According to the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of Yancheng City, the “Anti-Cult Alert Education Base” was officially launched on October 25. The unveiling ceremony took place at where the base is set up, at the Yilin Christian Church in Yancheng City, Funing County.