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China's Worsening Religious Freedom Crisis: Human Rights Concerns Mount

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Chinese Communist Party's campaign to 'Sinicize' houses of worship has led to a further deterioration of religious freedom in China, with church demolitions, cross removals, and widespread persecution of Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims. The situation has worsened over the past year, with the Chinese government implementing a five-year plan to eliminate all Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and other religious symbols.

According to the 2019 International Religious Freedom Report of the US State Department, released in June, some 500 crosses were removed in a 500-kilometer stretch from Zhejiang to Anhui. Quoting Protestant pastor Paul Lee, the report stated that the crosses belonged to churches with more than a century of history. The removal of crosses was part of a larger campaign to destroy public displays of religious symbols throughout the country.

Key Takeaways:

  • Over 500 crosses were removed in a 500-kilometer stretch from Zhejiang to Anhui, affecting churches with more than a century of history.
  • The Chinese government has implemented a five-year plan to eliminate all Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and other religious symbols.
  • Torture, physical abuse, and forced indoctrination are reported to have been used against adherents of registered and unregistered religious groups.
  • The Chinese government has targeted religious groups with overseas ties, particularly Christian groups, and has offered financial incentives to law enforcement and citizens to arrest and report 'illegal religious activity.'
  • Authorities have shut down religious venues, placed surveillance cameras in houses of worship, and demolished or destroyed Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Jewish, and other houses of worship.
  • More than one million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Hui, and members of other Muslim groups, as well as Uighur Christians, have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang since 2017.
  • The Chinese government has justified its 'war on faith' campaign as a measure against 'ethnic separatism, religious extremism, and violent terrorism.'

Statistics:

  • 500 crosses were removed in a 500-kilometer stretch from Zhejiang to Anhui.
  • 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim groups have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang since 2017.
  • The Chinese government has shut down or destroyed over 100,000 churches and mosques.
  • The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report documented over 14,000 cases of torture, physical abuse, and forced indoctrination against religious adherents.
  • The Chinese government has destroyed over 1,000 public displays of religious symbols, including statues and murals.

Sources:

  • 2019 International Religious Freedom Report of the US State Department
  • Union of Catholic Asian News (Ucan; www.ucanews.com)
  • Bitter Winter (bitterwinter.org)
  • US State Department report
  • Ross Terrill, Australian Sinologist

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