CHINA : Special bimonthly freedom of religion or belief (01-15.09.2022)

General

12.09.2022 – China targets religion on radio, TV and internet

Communist China is moving ahead to adopt a new regulation for radio, television, and online programs that strictly bans among other things all forms of dissent and unauthorized religious content that threatens to disrupt “social order” and negate “socialist culture,” says a report.

The State Administration of Radio and Television published the draft regulation titled: “Provisions on the Administration of Radio, Television, and Online A/V Program Production and Business” last month and asked all for “soliciting comments” by Sept 8, Bitter Winter, a magazine on religious liberty and human rights reported Sept. 9.

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Buddhists

01.09.2022 – Two Tibetan monks sentenced for possessing photos of Dalai Lama

Chinese authorities sentenced two Tibetan monks to at least three years in prison for possessing photos of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s foremost Buddhist spiritual leader who has been living in exile since 1959, RFA has learned.

RFA reported in December 2021 that Tenzin Dhargye, a monk in his 30s, had been arrested in September 2020, and sources said that several other monks had been arrested along with him. RFA has since learned that Rigtse, whose age is unknown, was among them. Tenzin Dhargye got three years and six months; Rigtse was sentenced to three years.

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Protestants

04.09.2022 – Churches in China facing ‘toughest persecution since Cultural Revolution ‘ says Christian charity

The charity Release International is warning of a renewed crackdown against churches in China.

The charity which serves the persecuted church, says Chinese authorities have been arresting pastors and shutting down congregations as part of a crackdown on religion ordered by President Xi Jinping in December 2021.

It says that police raids are being carried out with such ferocity that, according to reports, two women in a single congregation collapsed and had to be taken to hospital.

 

Partners of Release International have also compiled disturbing video evidence of raids on Sunshine Reformed Church in Jilin Province.

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05.09.2022 – China renews crackdown on churches

China is cracking down on churches with reports of pastors being arrested and congregations being shut down.

Release International said the crackdown on the Church is part of a “get-tough policy” on religion ordered by Chinese President Xi Jinping last December.

He is reported to have ordered that churches be forced to “adhere to Marxist religious views”, and called for the stricter enforcement of religion laws.

“His aim is to bring China’s religious minorities under ever-tighter state control,” said Release International.

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Catholics

 

13.09.2022 – Local authorities demolish Gothic-Styled cathedral for developing city

The Gothic-style cathedral of the Beihan Catholic Church of the Catholic Diocese of Taiyuan has been demolished by local authorities as a direct result of a new urban area development project by the government. On August 25, the Diocese of Taiyuan’s Beihan Catholic Church complex was torn down first, and the remaining 40-meter-high bell tower was blasted in a coordinated demolition.

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Falun Gong

15.09.2022 – Wang Xinmin: Veteran Falun Gong prisoner sentenced again

Wang Xinmin is a good example of how Falun Gong practitioners, once identified and arrested for the first time by the Chinese police, face the alternative between renouncing their faith and spending most of their future life in jail.

73-year-old Wang Xinmin, who used to work as a senior agronomist at Heilongjiang Tobacco Research Institute, was born in 1949 in Mudanjiang city, Heilongjiang province. He joined Falun Gong in the 1990s, and was arrested on October 22, 2003, together with his wife and daughter. He was sentenced to 14 years in jail for “using” a xie jiao, i.e., for being active in a banned religious movement.

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13.09.2022 – Man sentenced to 8 years for posting information about Falun Gong on WeChat

A Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province resident was sentenced to eight years by a court in nearby Henan Province for posting information about Falun Gong on WeChat, a popular social media platform in China.

Mr. Sun Wanshuai, an art teacher in his 50s, was arrested at home on December 3, 2020, by internet police from Luoyang City, Henan Province, about 600 miles away. His computer and cell phone were confiscated. The police claimed that he sent sensitive information about Falun Gong on WeChat and took him to Luoyang.

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10.09.2022 – 82 year-old-Hebei man jailed for 4.5 years for his faith

Mr. Yang Shaobao, 82, was released on August 11, 2022, after serving 4.5 years for raising awareness about his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Yang was arrested on July 22, 2017 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. His Falun Gong books, Falun Gong magazine and an mp3 were confiscated.

Although the police released Mr. Yang shortly after, they kept coming back to harass him and ransacked his home a few more times. Mr. Yang was tried by the Beidaihe Court on April 4, 2018 and sentenced to 4.5 years at the Jidong Prison in June.