Tag: Xi Jinping

China: children stopped from entering church as pressure on Henan Christians increases

May 9, 2018 China Anyang, Catholics, Children, China, Churches, Communism, Education, Henan, House churches, Protestants, Xi Jinping, Zhengzhou

Under new religious regulations in China, religious education to minors is prohibited. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pressure on Christians is increasing in China’s central Henan province, according to Catholic news service UCAN. Suppressive measures on both Catholic and Protestant churches have been directed by the central government in Beijing and have intensified in recent weeks, according to UCAN, which reported that churches had been “demolished and . . . Read More

China: ‘For Christians, the “grey” area is shrinking’

April 16, 2018 China Beijing, Bibles, China, Churches, Communism, Nanjing, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping

China's Communist Party is trying to suppress rapid growth among religions.(Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s Christians may not be surprised by recent tighter government control of religious affairs, including a ban on online Bible sales. But they are unsure what comes next. Following this month’s announcement that Bibles could no longer be made available online, large websites like Taobao, Jingdong, Weidian, Dangdang and Amazon . . . Read More

China pledges to protect religious freedom, days after Bible ban

April 6, 2018 China Bibles, Catholics, China, Protestants, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Women, married to pastors who work in rural areas in China, meet in a church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China presented an official ‘white paper’ on religion on Wednesday, 4 April, guaranteeing “protection” for religious freedom, just four days after banning the online sale of Bibles. The policy paper, titled ‘China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief’, was presented by the State Council Information Office at . . . Read More

China’s Communist Party increases control over religious affairs

March 27, 2018 China China, Communism, Crosses, Henan, Minorities, Religious freedom, Xi Jinping, Xinjiang, Zhejiang

The opening ceremony of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, held in October 2017. The Congress is the most important political event in China where decisions taken by the Central Committee are endorsed. (Photo by Prachatai via Flickr; CC 2.0)

China’s Communist Party has disbanded its Religious Affairs Bureau to bring religion under the control of the party’s Central Committee, in what some observers see as a further tightening of the belt. The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) is to be absorbed by the United Front Work Department, an . . . Read More

Chinese bishop reshuffle reinforces fears of state meddling

January 30, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Crosses, Guangdong, Pope Francis, Religion Law, Shantou, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Fears are growing that China’s communist government may be gaining more control over the Catholic Church there, as news emerged that the Vatican asked two bishops it had appointed to step aside in favour of ones selected by Beijing. These developments have taken place following a state campaign against China’s . . . Read More

China: 6 Christians jailed as pressure on churches increases

January 23, 2018 China China, Churches, Communism, Guizhou, Huoshi Church, Religious freedom, Shanxi, Su Tianfu, Xi Jinping, Xinjiang, Yang Hua, Yunnan

Group of Christians praying together in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Chinese court in the southwestern province of Yunnan sent six Protestant Christians to prison last week for their membership of an “evil cult”. The verdict comes as part of a provincial crackdown on cults, as the ruling Communist Party continues its national campaign to restrict unregistered churches before new religious . . . Read More

China: Christmas banned by university’s communists

December 21, 2017 China China, Communism, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

A Chinese university has banned Christmas in order to help young people resist the “corrosion of Western religious culture”, reports The Telegraph. A notice posted online at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, north-eastern China, said “some young people are blindly excited by Western holidays, especially religious holidays like Christmas Eve and Christmas . . . Read More

Chinese Christians told to believe in President Xi, not Jesus

November 16, 2017 China China, Communism, Jiangxi, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Villagers in southeast China have reportedly been told by local officials they will only receive aid if they profess their faith in the Communist Party and its leader. Christianity has grown rapidly in China and “by some estimates Christians … now outnumber the 90 million members of the Party”, according . . . Read More

China: state-sanctioned Church says new regulations will ‘strengthen Christianity’

October 20, 2017 China China, Communism, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

China’s new regulations on religious affairs, passed last month, are a “major event for Chinese Christianity, [as] they clarify Christianity’s role and strengthen her constructions”, according to the two organisations that comprise the state-sanctioned Church in China. The China Christian Council and Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which form the ‘lianghui’ (two . . . Read More

‘Uncontrolled’ growth of Christianity in China ‘makes government nervous’

October 11, 2017 China China, Churches, Communism, Donald Trump, House churches, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Group of Christians are praying together in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s Communist Party is threatened by the “uncontrolled growth of Christianity” in the country –estimated by some to reach 247 million by 2030, “making it the world’s largest congregation” – and China’s thriving underground churches can therefore expect a backlash, writes Eugene K. Chow for The Diplomat. Chow describes how . . . Read More

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