Freedom of Religion

According to the China Aid Association (CAA), state security agents have arrested Cai Zhuohua, a prominent leader of the underground Protestant church, and three of his relatives. Cai was a minister to six underground congregations in the Beijing area. Cai’s arrest took place on September 11.

CAA also reports that Chinese authorities discovered about 200,000 copies of the Bible and other Christian literature in a storage room managed by Cai, and indicates that Cai may have been connected to an overseas-based Christian website, www.aiyan.com. CAA has received reports that Cai’s case has been handled directly by the Department of State Security, and that he will probably receive an extremely harsh sentence.

The Shuimogou District People's Court in Urumqi on July 21 sentenced six members of the Guanyin Famen [Way of the Goddess of Mercy] organization to prison terms ranging from two to four years for their "cult" activities. Although the central government banned the Way of the Goddess of Mercy organization in July 1999 following its ban on the better known Falun Gong qigong organization, the Xinjiang courts had not convicted and sentenced any of its members for violating the criminal law until July 2005. (For further information on Guanyin Famen see here and here.)

Chinese public security officials have detained numerous "house church" Protestants in a number of incidents over the past several weeks, according to the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S.-based NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants.

Jampa Phuntsog (Qiangba Puncog), the Governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), told reporters in Hong Kong that it is too early to consider the Dalai Lama's return to his homeland, according to a July 19 South China Morning Post (SCMP) report. Accusing the Dalai Lama of continuing to work for Tibetan independence, Phuntsog complained that the Tibetan government-in-exile "has set up a parliament," "expanded its separatist activities," and "made the Tibet problem an international issue." He made the remarks during "Tibet Culture Week," a program that is sponsored by the State Council Information Office, the TAR government, and the Hong Kong Liaison Office, according to a July 20 Xinhua report.

The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) released a comprehensive report on April 14 detailing how the Chinese government censors political information on the Internet. ONI is a collaboration of researchers at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Toronto who work on Internet censorship and surveillance issues. According to ONI:

Updated March 6: The South China Morning Post and Reporters Without Borders report that the Shanghai Justice Bureau has upheld its decision to suspend the law license of defense lawyer Guo Guoting. The Bureau reportedly accused Guo of "on several occasions adopting positions and making statements contrary to the law and the Constitution" and “defiling and slandering” the Communist Party and government. According to a report published last week by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Bureau issued a notice on February 23 suspending Guo’s license to practice law. A hearing to review the decision was held on March 4. Guo, who plans to appeal the ruling, reportedly stated that the suspension was “unjustified official punishment.” Earlier, Guo told reporters that the government was trying to silence him for defending other activists.

Gyaltsen Norbu, installed by China's government as Tibetan Buddhism's Panchen Lama in December 1995 when he was five years old, made his first visit to the Tibetan autonomous areas of Sichuan province, according to Xinhua reports on June 28 (Chinese) and June 29 (English). In May 1995, the Dalai Lama announced his recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima as the Panchen Lama, but China's State Council declared the announcement "illegal and invalid" and instated Gyaltsen Norbu instead (report).

The Rev. Joseph Xing Wenzhi was ordained auxiliary bishop of the registered Catholic diocese of Shanghai on June 28, and said that the Holy See had approved his appointment, according to the June 28 edition of the Boston Globe. The Holy See has not confirmed that it nominated Bishop Xing, and the Shanghai Religious Affairs Bureau has denied any role for the Holy See. But AsiaNews, a Catholic news agency based in Italy and close to the Holy See, and Bishop Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong, both confirm that the Holy See approved Bishop Xing's ordination.