Tag: China

China: Christmas banned by university’s communists

December 21, 2017 China China, Communism, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

A Chinese university has banned Christmas in order to help young people resist the “corrosion of Western religious culture”, reports The Telegraph. A notice posted online at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, north-eastern China, said “some young people are blindly excited by Western holidays, especially religious holidays like Christmas Eve and Christmas . . . Read More

‘Crimes against humanity’ in North Korea’s prison camps

December 15, 2017 North Korea China, Human rights, International Criminal Court, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, UN

An icy Tumen river forms the border between China and North Korea, 2009. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

North Korea’s president, Kim Jong-un, and top officials should be held accountable for committing “crimes against humanity” in prison camps in the country, three international jurists said earlier this week. They called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish a special tribunal to prosecute the country’s leaders. The jurists’ . . . Read More

Freedom of thought ‘regressing on a global scale’

December 6, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Comoros, Education, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, The Gambia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

There are many Pakistani Christian women like Aasiya Noreen who live in fear of the Blasphemy law in their country and the (potential of) abuse. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The 2017 Freedom of Thought Report, presented yesterday (5 December), should be alarming “to all who care about freedom of thought and expression”, as it shows “a pattern of regression on a global scale”, says its editor, Bob Churchill. The report, published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) . . . Read More

Iraq and Philippines Christians join Red Wednesday religious freedom solidarity display

November 22, 2017 Bashar Warda, Belgium, China, Copts, Egypt, France, IDPs, India, Iraq, Islamic State, London, Manila, Myanmar, Nineveh Plains, Religious freedom, Rohingya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, UN, Uyghurs

Landmarks in the UK, Ireland, Iraq and the Philippines are due to be floodlit in red today (22 November) to highlight the persecution of faith groups for their “peacefully held beliefs”. The “Red Wednesday” initiative is in its second year and has been pioneered by Aid to the Church in . . . Read More

Chinese Christians told to believe in President Xi, not Jesus

November 16, 2017 China China, Communism, Jiangxi, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Villagers in southeast China have reportedly been told by local officials they will only receive aid if they profess their faith in the Communist Party and its leader. Christianity has grown rapidly in China and “by some estimates Christians … now outnumber the 90 million members of the Party”, according . . . Read More

China expels hundreds of South Koreans from North Korean border region

November 7, 2017 China China, Churches, Communism, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, North Korea, Sinicisation, South Korea

Hundreds of South Korean Christians, including church leaders, have been sent home in the last year by three provincial governments in north-eastern China in a move that is seen to be part of the implementation of a new set of rules to control religious activities. There are thought to be . . . Read More

China: state-sanctioned Church says new regulations will ‘strengthen Christianity’

October 20, 2017 China China, Communism, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

China’s new regulations on religious affairs, passed last month, are a “major event for Chinese Christianity, [as] they clarify Christianity’s role and strengthen her constructions”, according to the two organisations that comprise the state-sanctioned Church in China. The China Christian Council and Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which form the ‘lianghui’ (two . . . Read More

‘Uncontrolled’ growth of Christianity in China ‘makes government nervous’

October 11, 2017 China China, Churches, Communism, Donald Trump, House churches, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Group of Christians are praying together in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s Communist Party is threatened by the “uncontrolled growth of Christianity” in the country –estimated by some to reach 247 million by 2030, “making it the world’s largest congregation” – and China’s thriving underground churches can therefore expect a backlash, writes Eugene K. Chow for The Diplomat. Chow describes how . . . Read More

More than 80 countries ‘favour’ one religion over others – Pew Research Center

October 5, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Apostasy, Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Central Asia, China, Comoros, Converts, Cuba, India, Iran, Islamic extremism, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Maldives, Mauritania, Middle East, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Africa, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Over 80 countries favour a specific religion, either officially as a state religion or tacitly through special treatment, according to a new report by the US-based Pew Research Center. Islam is the most common state religion – 27 countries have it as their official religion, including 16 of the 20 . . . Read More

Chinese priest jailed for stealing was framed, say supporters

September 22, 2017 China China, Hebei, Liaoning

China's Communist Party is trying to suppress rapid growth among religions.(Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A prominent Chinese priest sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing money from a retirement home was framed by government officials, his supporters have claimed. Government-approved Fr. Fei Jisheng, from the province of Liaoning in north-east China, was sentenced by a court in the city of Gaizhou, along with . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye