Tag: China

China’s head of religious affairs warns of ‘domination’ by ‘foreign forces’

August 21, 2018 China Beijing, Catholics, China, Communism, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

People leaving the church after a service in Shenyang, north-eastern Dongguang province. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s head of religious affairs has warned that the country’s religious groups must not be “dominated” by “foreign forces”, reports Reuters. “There is no affiliate relationship between our country’s religions and foreign religions. Our country’s religious groups and religious matters do not accept domination by foreign forces,” the religious affairs . . . Read More

Chinese church closures, demolitions continue

August 17, 2018 China China, Churches, Jinan, Shandong, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement

Remainders of the Catholic church in Qianwang, Licheng district, after it was razed to the ground.. (Photo: still from video)

More than 20 churches have been closed this year in China’s north-western city of Xining and to prevent further closures the government should quickly approve applications of churches that want to become state-approved, says Wang Ruiqin, associate secretary-general of the state-aligned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC). . . . Read More

China: Christian summer camps closed down, priests dismissed

August 15, 2018 China Catholics, Children, China, Gansu, Religious freedom, Xi Jinping, Youth

Authorities make holding summer youth camps like this one held in 2008, increasingly difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China has closed several Christian summer camps for children and dismissed two priests for holding a camp, reports Catholic news agency UCAN. The two priests belonged to one of the only two unregistered Catholic churches in Tianshui diocese, in China’s northwest Gansu province. After their dismissal, the Tianshui Municipal Ethnic . . . Read More

China’s worship places face obligation to fly national flag

August 9, 2018 China China, Churches, Henan, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

China's national flag should not only fly at tourist sites like the Great Wall, but also at religious venues, say state-sanctioned religious groups. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

All places of worship in China will have to fly the national flag on national and religious holidays if a proposal by state-sanctioned religious institutions is implemented, reports Radio Free Asia (RFA). “All religious venues should raise China’s national flag to strengthen awareness of respect to the flag and preserve . . . Read More

‘Is it necessary for the government to do this?’ asks Chinese Christian after church demolition

August 6, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Jinan, Shandong

Chinese authorities have demolished a church in Jinan, Shandong province, to make way for further development of the area, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. Liangwang Catholic Church was legally registered with the religious administration. So was Shilihe Church, of the same diocese, demolished earlier this year. A third church, Wangun . . . Read More

China: Beijing churches call for government to respect religious rights

July 27, 2018 China Beijing, China, Guangdong, House churches, Religious freedom, Shantou

Cross on Dongguang Church against factory name. Shenyang, northeastern China. Shenyang is the capital and largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. It was the site of the 17th-century Manchu capital Mukden, and the imposing Mukden Palace (Shenyang Imperial Palace) is a blend of Manchurian and Tibetan architectural styles. Mausoleums of Qing dynasty emperors can be found at Zhaoling Tomb, amid the pine forests and lakes of Beiling Park, and at Fuling Tomb in the city’s east. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

In a joint declaration, 34 churches in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have called on the government to respect the freedom and rights of religious citizens, advocacy group CSW reports. The churches, which are independent from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, committed to “stand together” in the “new environment” that had . . . Read More

China’s Catholics told to create five-year plan to Sinicise Church

July 26, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Education, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Catholic dioceses in China have been told to come up with a five-year plan outlining how they will adapt more to Chinese culture and show loyalty to the Communist Party, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. A 15-page document, given to the churches by the state-approved Bishops’ Conference of the . . . Read More

Chinese churches ‘more careful who they allow in’, as raids increase

July 26, 2018 China China, Churches, Guangdong, Guangzhou, House churches, Sinicisation

Churches in China are becoming more careful over who they let in to their buildings, as government pressure increases following the implementation of new religious regulations earlier this year. Local authorities have been pressured to take action. In Guangzhou, for example, the capital of the southern province Guangdong, a local . . . Read More

‘Lack of religious freedom anywhere is a threat everywhere,’ Sam Brownback tells religious freedom summit

July 25, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country China, Mike Pompeo, Religious freedom, Sam Brownback, USA, Uyghurs, Xinjiang

Christian leaders in Iran have said that pressure on Christians increases every year around Christmas but that this year it is particularly severe. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, urged government and faith leaders, and civil society, to work together to enhance global religious freedom, at the opening of the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington DC yesterday (24 July). In his opening words, Brownback, who was appointed in . . . Read More

China: Xinjiang’s children in orphanages as their parents held in re-education camps

July 20, 2018 China Children, China, Religious freedom, Uyghurs, Women, Xinjiang

As a rally in support of China’s prisoners of conscience took place in the streets of Washington DC last week, an ongoing Chinese government crackdown on its Uyghur-people in Xinjiang province is tearing both Muslim and Christian families and communities apart. The rally, hosted by five rights groups in the . . . Read More

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