Religious issues and persecution – Bimonthly Digest July 01-15
General
09.07.2025 – China, religions told to strictly enforce new rules on dealing with foreigners
Bitter Winter – The 30th meeting of the National Religious Groups Joint Conference was held in Beijing on June 30, 2025. It served as a platform to coordinate the enforcement of the April 1 “Implementation Rules of the Regulations on the Administration of Religious Activities of Foreigners in the People’s Republic of China.”
Chen Ruifeng, Deputy Minister of the CPC Central Committee’s United Front Work Department and Director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, delivered the keynote speech. Other speakers included Yan Jue, President of the China Buddhist Association; Li Guangfu, President of the China Taoist Association; Yang Faming, President of China Islamic Association; Li Shan, Chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association; and Xu Xiaohong, Chairman of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
Catholics
11.07.2025 – Wenzhou, new crackdown on catholic conscientious objectors
Bitter Winter – Pope Leo XIV is reportedly deliberating on the future of the recently renewed Vatican-China deal from 2018. Meanwhile, authorities in Beijing are intensifying their crackdown on Catholic conscientious objectors who oppose the agreement. They are part of an underground church that, in theory, should have merged with the government-controlled Patriotic Catholic Church and ceased to exist.
In the southeastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, particularly within the Diocese of Wenzhou, a concerning crackdown on the underground church has reached alarming proportions. This intensified campaign, which began in spring 2025, involves the systematic arrests of priests, nuns, and lay followers, the closing of places of worship, and coercive methods aimed at forcing clergy and believers into compliance with the Patriotic Catholic Church.
Buddhists
10.07.2025 – Against the Dalai Lama, the CCP deploys the false Panchen Lama
Bitter Winter – While the world focused on the celebration of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday and his announcement about his succession, the CCP deployed its fake Panchen Lama, sending him to Tibet to perform unusually solemn ceremonies.
While broadcast on state television, the events drew a relatively small crowd, showing that few take the false Panchen Lama seriously in Tibet.
The impostor, identified as the Panchen Lama by the CCP but not recognized by the Dalai Lama, arrived at Lhasa Airport on June 27. Etiquette staff offered him chema—a mixture of roasted barley flour, butter, and sugar. As cameras rolled, the fake Panchen Lama scooped some barley from the chema and tossed it into the air, chanting a mantra to bless, he said, Tibet’s diverse populations.
08.07.2025 – China scolds Marco Rubio for Dalai Lama comments
Newsweek – China scolded U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told Washington to “stop meddling” after he extended birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, assumed his role in 1940. Following the violent suppression of a 1959 uprising in Lhasa by Chinese forces, he fled Tibet and has since made his home in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala, in India.
There, he helped establish a democratic government-in-exile and has traveled extensively, advocating for Tibetan autonomy.
05.07.2025 – The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday and the battle for Tibet’s soul
yibao.net – July 6 marks the 90th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso—a milestone not only of personal longevity but of profound historical consequence. As the revered spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism enters his tenth decade, the question of who will succeed him looms with deep urgency. This is no ordinary religious matter; it is a battle for the survival of a culture, a faith, and a people. And beyond that, it is a test for humanity. If the world stands by while the cultural identity of Tibet is erased under authoritarian control, we will lose more than a civilization—we will lose a source of wisdom, tolerance, and moral clarity that has long served as a quiet guide for our shared future.
04.07.2025 – Let Tibetans decide: Why China must stop interfering in the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation
amnesty.org.au – As His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns 90, he has offered clarity and reassurance to millions of Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism around the world: there will be a successor. And his office the Gaden Phodrang Trust – not the Chinese Government – has the sole authority for this reincarnation process in line with Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
This declaration, made during a religious gathering in his exile home of Dharamshala, India, is a powerful reaffirmation of a fundamental human right: the freedom of religion or belief.
03.07.2025 – India stands with Dalai Lama on reincarnation issue
Tibetan review – Rejecting China’s assertion of a false historical right to select the next Dalai Lama, India’s Minority Affairs Minister Mr Kiren Rijiju has said Jul 3 that the exile spiritual leader of Tibet alone could decide his reincarnate-successor.
Noting that the Dalai Lama represents the most significant institution for Buddhists, Rijiju has said, “The Dalai Lama holds a deeply significant position not only for Tibetans but also for millions of his followers around the world. The decision regarding his successor lies solely with the Dalai Lama.”
03.07.2025 – Dalai Lama issues statement confirming succession
CSW – His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has confirmed that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his passing, ending years of speculation.
In a statement released on 2 July ahead of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama reaffirmed that the process of identifying his successor will follow established Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He made clear that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is the sole legitimate authority in recognising his reincarnation. ‘No one else has any such authority to interfere in the matter’, he stated.
The statement follows an earlier 2011 assertion that he would consult with Tibetan High Lamas and the Tibetan people to re-evaluate whether the institution should continue when he turns 90.
Falun Gong
14.07.2025 – 68-year-old sister persecuted to death, 81-year-old brother sentenced to five years for their faith
Minghui – Two siblings in Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, were arrested in August 2024 for their shared faith in Falun Gong. The 68-year-old sister died in custody one month later and her 81-year-old brother was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2025.
Mr. Wang Jianying, a retired government employee, was arrested by officers from the Xiangshui Town Police Station on August 7, 2024. His sister, Ms. Wang Yuying, was seized by Fanjiatun Town Police Station officers a day later. Both of their homes were ransacked. After 15 days at the Gongzhuling City Lockup, they were transferred to the Gongzhuling City Detention Center.
09.07.2025 – Mother of three young children arrested for her faith, given violent physical examination
Minghui – A resident of Cang County, Hebei Province, was arrested on May 13, 2025, for her faith in Falun Gong. She was taken for a physical examination the next day, and about seven police officers held her down to do an electrocardiogram, a chest X-ray, and a blood draw.
The guards at the Cang County Detention Center declined to admit Ms. Jin Yue upon seeing her examination results. Captain Zhao Junfeng from the Cang County Domestic Security Division, who punched Ms. Jin on the head and back during the checkup, said that he had permission from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the detention center director, Ma, to detain her.
07.07.2025 – Beijing resident gets two years for raising awareness of persecution of Falun Gong
Minghui – A resident of Miyun District, Beijing, was recently admitted to the Tuanhe Prison in Daxing District in the same city to serve a two-year term for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Liu Lanchun was arrested at home on December 15, 2024, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials earlier on. The police first held him at the Chengguan Police Station and later at the Jizhuang Detention Center.
Protestants
09.07.2025 – Fuyang: new raid, arrests target Maizhong reformed Church
Bitter Winter – In March 2025, “Bitter Winter” reported a raid by Chinese authorities on the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang city, Anhui province. Another raid occurred in April.
This church operates within a network of Reformed congregations that have steadfastly refused to affiliate with the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). Before 2025, Reformed churches like Maizhong were not categorized as “cults” and did not fall under the classification of xie jiao.
03.07.2025 – Lawyer Xie Yang has been arbitrarily detained for more than three and a half years and his detention has been extended for the twelfth time
ChinaAid – Authorities have arbitrarily detained human rights lawyer Xie Yang for three and a half years without trial. Xie Yang remains under strict supervision while handcuffed at Changsha No. 1 Detention Center, and his detention has now been extended for the twelfth time.
According to reports on July 1, 2025, Xie Yang is accused of “inciting subversion of state power.” With approval from China’s Supreme People’s Court, his detention has again been extended, for the twelfth time, with a detention period from May 28 to August 28, 2025.
02.07.2025 – Zhejiang: Pastor Huang Yizi arrested again
Bitter Winter – Pastor Huang Yizi, of the Fengwo Church—a house church in Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province—has become a notable figure for those following the struggle of Christians against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its anti-religious policies.
In 2014, Huang protested against the CCP’s extensive campaign to remove crosses in Zhejiang Province, where approximately 1,700 crosses were dismantled from churches. As a result of his activism, Huang was arrested and spent one year in prison.
02.07.2025 – Xi’An Church of Abundance: trial against pastors starts with fabricated “victims”
Bitter Winter – “Bitter Winter” has reported over the years on the persecution of the Church of Abundance (Fengsheng), a historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi, which has managed to survive and operate for around thirty years.
On June 20, 2022, the homes of several believers were raided. The church was accused of being a xie jiao or a “cult,” despite its mainstream theology. Authorities claimed that it had fraudulently collected donations. It has become routine for Chinese officials to assert that any donations gathered for a religious organization not affiliated with one of the five authorized religions are inherently obtained through fraudulent means.
