Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest September 16-30
General
30.09.2024 – USCIRF exposes “sinicization” of religion
Bitter Winter – The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Its Commissioners are appointed by the President and by Congressional leaders of both political parties.
Dated September 2024, its report “Sinicization of Religion: China’s Coercive Religious Policy” is one of the most comprehensive documents to-date on how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “Sinicizes” all religions, which does not mean making them more Chinese but compelling them to become mere mouthpieces for the regime.
Buddhists
27.09.2024- Securing the legacy: The future of the Dalai Lama and Tibet. A Tibetan point of view
Bitter Winter – Just few weeks ago, the Tibetan community of New York and New Jersey offered Tenshug, long life prayer ceremony for His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the UBS Arena in New York. Seventeen thousand Tibetans and other devotees of His Holiness showed up who were lucky enough to get the tickets for this small venue arranged by the able organizers at a short notice.
16.09.2024 – For Tibetans, there is now a “Xi Jinping thought on reincarnation”
Bitter Winter – There is a “Xi Jinping Thought” for everything, including toilets. And Tibetans know that, while being atheistic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2007, through the State Administration of Religious Affairs, issued a regulation claiming its right to control reincarnation.
According to the infamous “Order no. 5” of 2007, the CCP decides which Buddhist lamas are authorized to reincarnate, and they receive a card confirming the authorization. The next incarnation of a deceased lama is identified by the CCP, which has created a historical mythabout the so-called “Golden Urn” to justify its theory that reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist lamas should be controlled by Chinese state authorities.
Taoists
20.09.2024 – Taoist seminary places “Ideological and political education in the first place”
Bitter Winter – Taoism is a quintessential Chinese religion and perhaps the most typical expression of Chinese culture. Yet, Taoists are continuously told that Taoism should be “Sinicized.” This is further evidence that “Sinicization” does not mean adapting religion to Chinese culture and tradition. Taoism “is” Chinese tradition and culture. “Sinicization” in the People’s Republic of China means adapting religion to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, and making clergy spokespersons for the government and its ideology.
Catholics
17.09.2024 – Catholic priests in China: “Patriotic education” through revolutionary pilgrimages
Bitter Winter – The law on “patriotic education” came into force in China on January 1 of 2024, launching the largest campaign of domestic propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the 21stcentury. The state-controlled five authorized religions are also asked to participate in the “patriotic education” efforts.
Pilgrimages are important for Catholics but with the advent of “patriotic education” visiting Marian shrines is increasingly replaced by mandatory tours of revolutionary sites and museums.
Falun Gong
27.09.2024 – 70-year-old man sentenced to 7.5 years for sharing videos on social media
Minghui – A 70-year-old Faku County, Liaoning Province, resident was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison with a 20,000-yuan fine on August 22, 2024, for sharing videos on Kuaishou, a popular short-form video platform in China.
Mr. Guan Chenglin’s arrest was triggered by an investigation of a local Falun Gong practitioner, Song Hongman (gender unknown), who was accused of posting Falun Gong videos on Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok) and Kuaishou. Police departments in Shenyang City (in Liaoning Province), Zhengzhou City (in Henan Province), and Xianyang City (in Shaanxi Province), were involved in the investigation.
24.09.2024 – Belated news: After 10 years behind bars, 60-year-old Hubei woman arrested again for raising awareness of persecution of Falun Gong
Minghui – A 60-year-old resident of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was arrested on November 10, 2023 after being reported for talking to people about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of her faith, Falun Gong. It is unclear at the time of writing whether Ms. Cai Rufen is out on bail or still in detention.
Prior to this latest round of persecution, Ms. Cai previously served three forced labor terms and two prison terms totaling 10 years. She was also fired from her teaching job at the Xinzhou District First Middle School in 2006. Her years of service were wiped out from her pension calculation formula, rendering her with no retirement benefits.
19.09.2024 – Retired Gansu Physician jailed for her faith in Falun Gong
Minghui – A 59-year-old retired physician in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province lost her appeal against a wrongful conviction in June 2024 and was subsequently admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Liu Guifang was arrested on May 30, 2023 after being reported by a student for talking to him about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong. The arresting officers from the Xiaoxihu Police Station and the Qilihe District Domestic Security Division raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books, laptop and paper currency printed with Falun Gong messages (as a way to raise awareness of the persecution).
Protestants
27.09.2024 – Police raid Beijing Zion Church and detain three christians
China Aid – (Beijing) Police raided the Haidian branch of the Beijing Zion Church on September 22. Elder Cai Jing, Zhou Sirui, and Wu Qiong were administratively detained. Zhou Sirui’s boyfriend sent an intercession letter asking for others to pray for them.
The Beijing Zion Church Haidian Branch mainly spreads the gospel to college and university students. Local police and other departments suddenly entered one Sunday, interrupting the gathering. All attendees were required to register their identity information before being allowed to leave the venue.
26.09.2024 – Xuncheng reformed church member detained for participating in a gathering two years ago
China Aid – (Taiyuan, Shanxi Province – September 26, 2024) Xu Cuili, a Christian sister from Xuncheng Reformed Church in Taiyuan, was given 15 days of administrative detention and fined 500 yuan by local police for gathering with other church members at a restaurant on April 3, 2022. Due to the pandemic at that time, the detention was postponed. Xu Cuili has recently been administratively detained for 15 days, from September 23, 2024, to October 8, 2024.
23.09.2024 – Pastor David Lin: A life sentence turned on its head
China Aid – News of his release has been covered by U.S. media, with Lin’s family and supporters expressing relief and joy over his return. While this development could impact US-China relations, it is still unclear what concessions, if any, were made by the US to secure his freedom.
Before returning to China as a missionary, the 68-year-old pastor David Lin worked as an economic advisor in Iowa and California, consulting for state officials. When he first arrived in the US, he wasn’t a Christian and told his family that only ignorant people believed in religion. His wife, however, guided him toward faith, and he became actively involved in church. By the 1990s, he began traveling frequently to China to support local churches.
18.09.2024 – A Chinese Christian tortured in jail tells his story
Bitter Winter – Zhu Chunlin is a Christian from Shenzhen, who was sentenced for “illegal fundraising.” He bravely denounced what happened to him in jail, which is further evidence of the use of torture as routine in Chinese prisons. He sent a long statement to several human rights organizations, which was published in Chinese by “Weiquanwang” on September 11.
Zhu describes his “experience of serving my sentence in the 15th Ward of Qingyuan Prison…
The 15th Ward mainly produces clothing. I was in the first sub-ward.” Zhu “was transferred from the Bao’an District Detention Center in Shenzhen to the Qingyuan Prison in Guangdong province in May 2017. After one month of prison training, [he] was transferred to the First Sub-District of the Fifteenth District to receive so-called education and labor reform.”