New Regulation in Xinjiang Appears To Expand Controls Over Children's Religious Freedom (Includes Update)

December 11, 2009

A new regulation on the protection of minors, adopted by the Xinjiang government and effective December 1, 2009, appears to expand formal legal controls over children's freedom of religion and parents' right to impart religious teachings. The regulation reportedly addresses the "negative impact" various religious activities have on minors. While the full text of the regulation is unavailable, an earlier draft version of the regulation expanded upon restrictions in force in Xinjiang that already prohibited parents or guardians from letting children engage in religious activities, adding more specificity to earlier restrictions and stipulating obligations for government offices and other entities to intervene in certain cases. The prohibition, unseen elsewhere in China, appears to have no basis in Chinese law and also contravenes international protections for freedom of religion. [See the end of this analysis for an update based on a copy of the regulation made available on December 25.]

A new regulation that took effect in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on December 1, 2009, includes provisions addressing the "negative impact" various religious activities have on minors, according to a November 19 Xinhua report. Although the full text of the XUAR Regulation on the Protection of Minors appears to be unavailable on the Internet and in legal databases, if the final version retains provisions included in the draft regulation considered for deliberation in June, it will expand existing legal controls over children's right to freedom of religion in the XUAR and parents' right to impart religious teachings. The June draft reportedly retains an earlier restriction in force in the XUAR (see below for discussion) stating that parents or guardians "may not permit minors to be engaged in religious activities." The draft also states that "no organization or individual may lure or force minors to participate in religious activities or use religion to obstruct minors' compulsory education," adding "lure" to a similar provision already in force. In addition, the draft states that where minors are "lured" or "forced" into such activities, they "can ask for protection from schools, neighborhood committees, village committees, offices for the protection of minors, or public security organs," and such "organizations or work units receiving requests for help must take measures in a timely manner and not refuse or shift responsibility." According to a June 8 report from Legal Daily (via the Ministry of Commerce's China Market Order Net) on the June draft, the provisions "are directed at the phenomenon in some places in Xinjiang of parents or other guardians forcing minors to believe in a religion or participate in religious activities." The Xinhua article reported that the legislative process included 10 drafts of the regulation but did not specify if any revisions were made to the version considered in June. Recent work on the regulation dates to early 2008, and the drafting process included three study trips inside and outside the XUAR, four sessions to solicit input from each district and municipality, two scholarly forums, and survey work, according to the article.

The new stipulations would add to a restriction previously in force in Article 14 of the XUAR's 1993 Implementing Measures for the Law on the Protection of Minors that prohibited parents or guardians from "permitting minors to be engaged in religious activities," which alone appeared to amount to a total ban on children's religious activities. Article 30 also stated that "no organization or individual may force minors to participate in religious activities" or "use religion to obstruct minors' compulsory education." As noted in an earlier CECC analysis, the earlier prohibition in Article 14 barring parents from permitting children to engage in religious activities was unseen among other regulations in China and appeared to have no basis in national Chinese law. The PRC Law on the Protection of Minors is silent on the matter of religion, and the national Regulation on Religious Affairs is silent on the issue of children's freedom of religion and parents' right to impart religious teachings to their children.

The legal restrictions in the XUAR also contravene international human rights protections for freedom of religion. Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China has signed and pledged to ratify, provide that everyone has the right to freedom of religion. The ICCPR also stipulates "the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions." Under the ICCPR, freedom of religion "may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others," and General Comment Number 22(8) to this article of the ICCPR notes that "the liberty of parents and guardians to ensure religious and moral education cannot be restricted." Article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which China has ratified, specifies that "States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." In addition, "States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child."

The formal legal restrictions, combined with policy directives and the individual interpretations of implementing officials, have translated into harsh controls in practice over children's freedom of religion. See previous Commission analyses (1, 2) for additional information. Authorities identify "illegal religious activities" and "religious extremism" as threats to the region's security and target religion in broader security measures and anti-separatism campaigns. In past years, XUAR media and local government Web sites provided detailed information on implementation of legal measures and policies on religion, including measures affecting children. Such information has been limited this year as Web sites from the XUAR have remained inaccessible to users outside the region since July. For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see Section II―Freedom of Religion―Islam and Section IV―Xinjiang in the CECC 2009 Annual Report.

UPDATE, January 7, 2010:

On December 25, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council posted the full text of the XUAR Regulation on the Protection of Minors on its Web site (available via the CECC). The text differs from the reported version of the June draft in that it excludes the previous provision stating that parents or guardians "may not permit minors to be engaged in religious activities." The regulation retains, however, other language from the earlier draft that leaves wide latitude in restricting children's religious activities. It also includes obligations for government offices and other entities to intervene in certain cases.

  • Article 34 includes language similar to that reported in the June draft, stating that "no organization or individual may lure or force minors to participate in religious activities" and that they "may not use religion to carry out activities to obstruct compulsory education." The regulation lacks criteria for determining what acts constitutes "luring" or "force," leaving latitude to interpret the terms in a manner that conflicts with "the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions," as defined in the ICCPR.
  • Article 48 also contains language similar to that in the June draft, stating that where minors are "lured" or "forced" into such activities, they "can ask for protection from schools, neighborhood committees, village committees, offices for the protection of minors, or public security organs," and such "organizations or work units receiving requests for help must take measures in a timely manner and not refuse or shift responsibility."
  • Article 53 contains the regulation's final mention of religion. It stipulates that where "any organization or individual lures or forces a minor to participate in religious activities" in violation of Article 34, the controlling agency will give "criticism and education" and "order the situation to be amended." In addition, public security organs will give administrative punishment "in accordance with law" in cases of violations of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, which includes the possibility of short-term detention. The 1993 XUAR Implementing Measures for the Law on the Protection of Minors did not specify penalties for violations of its religion-related provisions.