China Aid releases summary of 2016 persecution

Posted at China Aid:

(Midland, Texas—Jan. 23, 2017) China Aid recently released a summary of religious persecution across in China in 2016, noting how Communist Party terminology shifted from guiding religions and socialism into mutual adaptation into a promoting the full-on Sinicization of religious beliefs.

According to the summary, 2016 brought a major change in the Communist Party’s approach to religious management. Under the administration of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, the role of the Party in regards to religion was to encourage it to mutually adapt with socialism. In April of last year, however, current Chinese president Xi Jinping convened National Religious Conference for the first time since 2001 and introduced the idea of “Sinicizing” religions; that is, forcing them to conform to the Chinese government’s agenda.

The report focuses on the implementation of the Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs, which was introduced as a draft in September. In preparation for its authorization, local government departments enacted various measures against house churches in order to coerce them into joining the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement, one of two official Christian organizations within the Communist Party.

The article also asserts that China responded to its own claims of so-called religious extremist activities by restricting hajj pilgrimages and inserting its values of “patriotism, peace, the Chinese dream, moderation, morality, and good behavior” into Islamic preaching. China justifies restrictions on Islam by it has been a victim of religious extremist-incited terrorist attacks; however, many human rights organizations believe the government construes false terrorist accusations and disproportionately limits the practice of Islam in order to suppress peaceful, innocent Muslims.

China Aid exposes abuses that religious devotees experience at the hands of the Chinese government in order to promote religious freedom and human rights.

Read more here.