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China is tightening control over religions

New regulations mean matters of faith will have to serve the interests of the Communist Party
China is tightening control over religions

Chinese Catholics outside the Sheshan Basilica in Shanghai, which was built in 1863. Amendments to China's Regulation for Religious Affairs is being viewed by experts as a way for the Communist Party to reinforce its control over religions. (ucanews.com photo)

Published: September 16, 2016 10:07 AM GMT
Updated: September 16, 2016 11:01 AM GMT

China's government has introduced amendments to religious regulations that will tighten state control on both legal and illegal faith groups, according to religious scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The State Council Legislative Affairs Office released a draft bill to revise the Regulations for Religious Affairs (RRA) on Sept. 7. They introduced 26 new articles, an increase from 48 to 74.

Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, points out that Article 6 of the bill added more organizational units in different levels to control religious affairs.

"You can see religious management expanded from the government to grassroots units, such as village or street committees," Ying told ucanews.com.

Reverend Choy Siu-Kai, Assistant Professor of the Alliance Bible Seminary, said the amendments granted extra powers to monitor and administer religious groups.

"If any religious conflict occurs there is a greater chance of the rights of the religious people and their communities being infringed," he said, adding that will be more difficult to "enjoy religious freedom as guaranteed by the constitution."

Professor Shih Chien-yu, Secretary General of the Central Asian Studies Association in Taiwan, was also concerned. "It stresses localization, legalization and sinicization," Shih told ucanews.com.

"Simply speaking, the religious policy in China is now to prevent or cut off direct intervention from foreign religious forces and to try and keep religious policy concrete and aligned with the law," he added.

 

New chapter on religious education

The bill listed seven new articles in a new chapter on religious education revealing that the Chinese government understands how important it is to exert control on this aspect, according to Ying.

In a commentary for ucanews.com, Jia Ruohan, a Catholic in Chongqing, revealed that each Catholic seminary had to report their ideological and political education to local authorities in order to correct issues in Catholic education identified by a government inspection.

The new curriculum discussed in the meeting "is not the normal teaching of the church because they have strong political inclinations," he wrote.

In another addition, the policy now stipulates that teachers from outside China have to be jointly approved by the religious affairs department and an office for the management of foreign experts.

"Foreign teachers must agree with the idea of sinicization in order to get qualified," said Jia. "They must not instill western values, which are often similar to what the church upholds, values like equality, human rights, justice."

Shih pointed out a new article that gives authorities the mission to strike against the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

"It clearly says that a religion can guide or introduce these 'forces.'… It is not difficult to connect this with the Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang and northwestern China," Shih said.

 

Tight grasp on religious appointments

Unless the Vatican agrees to share power with Beijing it will fall foul of Article 70.2 that bans the appointment of religious personnel by foreign forces without authorization.

"Bishop appointments made by the pope could be regarded as manipulation of a foreign force. But if it is jointly appointed with Beijing, then it is not 'without authorization'," explained Father John, a priest in China.

The Chinese Legislative Affairs Office said that one of their aims is to rectify the commercialization of Buddhist and Daoist groups. But new articles on religious property, financial inspection and auditing are just another way for the government to tighten its control, according to Ying.

"It makes it easier for the government to grasp control of their operations," he said.

But some Chinese Catholics have already found a loophole. For example, Article 57 does not allow donations of more than 100,000 yuan (about US$15,000) from outside China, but "we can ask the donation to come in by small amount each time," said Teresa, a mainland Catholic who didn't want to give her full name.

The former Regulations for Religious Affairs was promulgated in 2004 and came into effect in March 2005. A public consultation on the new bill, which runs until Oct. 7, was announced on the website of the State Council Legislative Affairs Office.

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission is planning to respond to the consultation. Staff Officer Or Yan-yan said that one has to look at the amendment in regards to the current reality in China.

"After Xi Jinping assumed presidency, there has been a continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights. There is no exception for religions," she said, adding "we do not have high hopes" that the amendment will improve religious freedom.

"The national conference on religious work in April has shown that religion is a tool to serve the interests of the Party," she said.

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