Freedom of Religion

Public security officers detained an unregistered Catholic bishop and two unregistered priests in Hebei province on November 7 and 8, according to a November 9 report by the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CKF), a U.S. NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Catholics.

Public security officers detained two priests who are leaders of the unregistered Catholic community in Zhejiang province on October 27, according to an October 28 AsiaNews report. The same day that officials detained Fathers Shao Zhumin and Jiang Sunian, the Italian newsmagazine L'espresso published an interview (in Italian) with the two priests and Father Wang Zhoufa, a fellow cleric. Public security officers detained Fathers Shao and Jiang in separate locations, shortly after they celebrated Mass to mark the close of the Year of the Eucharist before a congregation of about 600 Catholics. Father Wang apparently was not detained.

The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) has established a special office to administer "folk religions" [minjian zongjiao], according to a September 20 article in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The Chinese government recognizes only five official state religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. The 2005 State Department International Religious Freedom Report section on China defined folk religions as "worship of local gods, heroes, and ancestors," and found that "hundreds of millions of citizens" practice folk religions.

Public security officers raided a Protestant house church in Henan province on November 6 and detained six house church leaders, according to a November 7 report by the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants. Yuan Quansan, Zhang Xiaowu, He Zhanying, Wang Jianzhong, and two unnamed men were detained in the raid. By the end of the following day, public security officials had released all but Yuan Quansan and one of the unnamed men. According to CAA, officials told Yuan and the unnamed church leader that their release is contingent on their promise to stop gathering house church believers for worship and other activities, unless the churches join the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The TSPM is the government-controlled national Protestant organization.

The U.S. Department of State issued an Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom on November 8, as required under U.S. law. Prepared by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the report includes a section on China that describes continued government repression of religious activities, especially among unregistered groups, despite a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. In remarks accompanying the release of the report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted that it again designates China as one of eight "Countries of Particular Concern" whose "governments have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom over the past year."

The State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC) convened its first working group of experts on November 14 to participate in drafting the “State Council Regulation on Halal Foods Management,” according to a November 15 SEAC report. "Halal" designates foods prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary rules. The working group includes advisors from the China Islamic Association, academia, government think tanks, and the food industry. The SEAC began work on the regulation in 2002 and established an office and leading group in August 2005 to oversee completion of the drafting process. Existing legislation covers the regulation and management of halal products at provincial and local levels.

In an August 24 report, Forum 18, a religious freedom NGO based in Norway, reviewed the case of Cai Zhuohua, a Beijing house church pastor who the Chinese government prosecuted for "illegal business practices." Pastor Cai's case "highlights the severe restrictions Christian publishing is forced to operate within in China," according to the report.

Public security officials in Guangzhou formally arrested rural activist Guo Feixiong on October 4, over three weeks after a Chinese news source reported him as missing and likely to be in police custody, according to the Epoch Times, BBC, and South China Morning Post (subscription required). Officials detained Guo on September 13 and have charged him with "gathering people to disturb public order," a crime under Article 290 of China's Criminal Law.