Freedom of Religion

Local governments in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) continued in 2010 to impose restrictions on Muslims' observance of Ramadan. The curbs in 2010 follow restrictions on the month-long holiday of daily fasting as documented by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) in previous years (1, 2). An official from the XUAR Ethnic Affairs Commission and Religious Affairs Bureau said in an August 12 China Network TV (CNTV) article that Muslims have the "right to choose whether to fast during Ramadan or not," but reports from the past year indicate local officials have interfered with Muslims' right to observe the holiday. Examples include:

Authorities in the XUAR have carried out campaigns in 2010 and previous years to restrict wearing beards, veils, and clothing perceived to carry religious connotations, associating the practices with "religious extremism" and "backwardness." In some cases, authorities have focused their efforts on younger people, in an apparent effort to stem perceived "religious extremism" among segments of the population deemed more likely to challenge official authority. In at least one reported campaign, authorities described using legal punishments to address wearing beards and veils.

Bishop Jia Released After 15 Months in Detention in Unknown Location

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) continue to exert tight control over the practice of religion, according to reports from XUAR government Web sites and Chinese and overseas media. In the aftermath of demonstrations and rioting in the XUAR in July 2009, authorities claimed "religious extremism" as one cause of the events in July and they continue to include controls over religion as part of security measures in the region. Some details about recent controls over religion in the XUAR remained unknown in the aftermath of the July events, as authorities curbed Internet access and imposed other restrictions over the free flow of information from the region.

New measures have entered into force on a trial basis in China that regulate the financial affairs of registered venues for religious activities in China. The State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) passed the Measures on the Supervision and Management of Financial Affairs of Venues for Religious Activities (Trial) (Financial Affairs Measures) on January 7, 2010, effective March 1. Like the other sets of measures on religion-related issues issued by SARA in recent years, the Financial Affairs Measures elaborate on provisions in the Regulation on Religious Affairs (RRA), which entered into force in 2005.

The Communist Party-controlled Women's Federation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has strengthened measures in the past year to regulate the religious activities of Muslim women, according to recent reports from the region. It carried out at least one prefectural campaign in coordination with government offices, while a separate Communist Party office in another locality reported it would increase monitoring of Muslim women religious specialists. The efforts build on previous official steps in recent years to interfere in the religious activities of Muslim women. See previous Congressional-Executive Commission on China analyses (1, 2, 3) for more information. Recent developments include:

Regulating Women Religious Figures