Freedom of Religion

China's state-controlled Catholic church held a meeting in December to celebrate the Chinese church's policy of appointing bishops independently of Holy See practices for designating the religious leaders. The Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference, the two Communist Party-controlled organizations that lead China's state-sanctioned Catholic church, convened the meeting on December 19 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the church's policy of "self-selecting" and "self-ordaining" bishops, according to a December 19 Xinhua report.

Continuing a trend in which the PRC Criminal Law is used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, a Beijing court sentenced a 40-year-old award-winning artist to three years in prison late last year on account of her association with the banned spiritual movement. On November 25, 2008, the Beijing Chongwen District People's Court sentenced Xu Na to three years in prison for "using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law," according to Xu's attorney as reported by the Associated Press (AP) (reprinted in the International Herald Tribune), Agence France-Presse (AFP) (reprinted in Yahoo! News), and Radio Free Asia (RFA) on November 25.

Local governments in China reported in fall 2008 on measures to prevent "illegal" religious gatherings and curb other "illegal" religious activities, continuing longstanding controls over religious practice in China. As noted in Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Annual Reports (see, for example, reports from 2007 and 2008), religious communities must apply to register with the government and must submit to state control over their affairs. Registered groups must receive government approval to establish sites of worship. Religious and spiritual groups that do not meet registration requirements and groups that choose not to submit to government control through registration risk harassment, detention, closure of sites of worship, and other abuses.

The state-controlled Chinese Protestant church marked the 10th-year anniversary of a program of theology that aligns Protestant doctrine to Communist Party policy, according to several November 2008 reports from the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA). As noted in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2008 Annual Report (via the Government Printing Office Web site), the state-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), which leads the registered Protestant church in China, suppresses denominational differences among Protestants and imposes a Communist Party-defined program of "theological construction" on registered churches. "Theological construction," according to one TSPM official, is intended to "weaken those aspects within Christian faith that do not conform with the socialist society."

Chinese authorities have continued to target religious leaders for harassment, detention, and other abuses, in the midst and aftermath of the Olympic Games. China's preparations for the sporting event ushered in a period of heightened government scrutiny and control over communities including religious groups. Recently reported cases include:

While the financial cost of the Olympics is estimated at $43 billion, the human toll of China's preparations for the Olympics is also considerable. Seeking to ensure security and project a "positive" image, China has cracked down on groups it deems potential "troublemakers": migrant workers, petitioners, ethnic minorities, Falun Gong practitioners, activists, rights defenders, religious leaders, and others. This crackdown has intensified during the months and weeks leading up to the Games, which begin on August 8. At the same time, China has fallen short in meeting formal commitments it made to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). These commitments include increased freedom for the foreign press and progress on environmental issues.

Press Freedom

Authorities in Shanghai have implemented measures to prevent Catholic pilgrims from visiting the Marian Shrine of Sheshan during the month of May, according to notices from Chinese government and state-controlled church authorities, as well as reports from overseas media organizations. May is the period during which Catholics observe Marian month, and last year, in an open letter to Catholics in China (via the Vatican Web site), Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the significance of the Sheshan Shrine to the occasion. In addition, he called for May 24 to serve as a day for Catholics throughout the world "to be united in prayer" with Catholics in China.

House church pastor Wang Zaiqing completed his two-year prison sentence for "illegal operation of a business" on April 27 and is presumed to have since been released from prison, according to information from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Political Prisoner Database. Authorities in Huainan city, Anhui province, initially detained Wang on April 28, 2006, after he printed and distributed Bibles and other religious materials without government authorization. On October 9, 2006, the Tianjia'an District People's Court levied the two-year prison sentence on Wang and fined him 100,000 yuan (then approximately US$12,500).