Rights Organization Says New Regulation has Failed to Protect Religious Freedom

"Chinese citizens' ability to exercise their right to freedom of religion remains as subject to arbitrary restrictions as ever," Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in a March 1 press release that marked one year since the new Regulation on Religious Affairs (RRA) entered into force. The Chinese government had hailed the RRA as progress in protecting religious freedom, but HRW reported that, since its implementation, authorities "continue to detain and arrest religious believers, close religious sites, and impose restrictions on the movements, contacts, visits, and correspondence of religious personnel."

Human Rights Watch criticized the RRA for its vagueness and potential for arbitrary application. "There's nothing accidental about the vagueness - it gives officials the room they need to legitimize closing mosques, raiding religious meetings, 'reeducating' religious leaders, and censoring publications," HRW Asia director Brad Adams said in the press release. The press release also noted the Chinese government is not likely to resolve quickly the issue of whether or not to recognize additional religions; Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism are the only religions currently authorized in China.

The press release mentioned several instances of government crackdowns on religion since the RRA entered into effect, including:

• Detaining three Uighurs for possessing an unauthorized religious text and detaining a Uighur teacher and students studying the Koran.
• Banning the Sala branch of Islam and detaining 179 practitioners.
• Compelling Tibetan Buddhist nuns and monks to attend "patriotic education."
• Expelling Tibetan Buddhist monks, nuns, and a monastic official for supporting the Dalai Lama.
• Detaining unregistered Catholic clerics.
• Raiding unauthorized Protestant gatherings, including a series of raids in Jilin province.
• Sentencing Pastor Cai Zhuohua to prison after he printed and gave away Christian literature.
• Sentencing to prison or reeducation through labor over 400 Falun Gong practitioners.

For additional information, see section III(d), Freedom of Religion, in the CECC 2005 Annual Report.