Religious intolerance in China

5 April 2002

Thank you Mr. Chair,

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a rich and diverse religious heritage, and plays host to a number of religious movements and organisations. However, as a new report by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) shows, while some officially recognized religions enjoy a degree of state support, others have been suppressed, their places of worship destroyed, their followers and leaders arrested and detained, sometimes tortured and killed.

Jiang Zemin recently pointed out to President Bush that China’s 1982 Constitution upholds the right to freedom of religion, however it makes a clear distinction between what it describes as ‘normal religious activities’ and those activities that threaten the stability of the state. It also explicitly asserts that religious bodies and affairs should not be ‘subject to any foreign domination’.

MRG’s report focuses predominantly on the world religions of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, all which China considers synonymous with separatist movements and a threat to its sovereignty.

China does not allow genuinely independent organizations or branches of international organizations, religious or otherwise, to exist. Christian organizations are supposed to be under state control. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement was created to ensure Christians belonged to churches that were considered ‘patriotic’, however significant numbers refuse to be part of this government-sponsored movement and worship in underground and house churches. Members of these congregations and their religious leaders have been systematically subject to mass arrests and sentenced to terms in ‘re-education through labour’ camps. Unregistered churches have been closed down by the state and individuals have been jailed for activities such as ‘illegally’ publishing the Bible and other religious materials.

The contested territories of Tibet and Xinjiang are also discussed in MRG’s report. In both areas religious freedom and expression are systematically suppressed.

While the complexity of the Tibetan issue means that it is often difficult to separate religion from politics, reports of ill-treatment and brutality continue to come out of Tibet, and Buddhist monks and nuns, the standard-bearers of Tibetan national and religious identity, are frequently the targets.

Although introduced to China in the 7th Century B.C., Islam is still viewed as a ‘foreign’ religion by China. Muslims in China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region can be divided into two major linguistic groups. The Hui, are spread throughout China, speak Chinese and follow orthodox Sunni Islam. Conversely, almost all the Muslims whose first language is not Chinese are found in Xinjiang, where most speak Turkic languages. Because the authorities see their religious beliefs as tied closely to separatist ideas, Turkic-speaking Muslims are subject to greater controls and are far less free to practice and express their faith. Mosques and schools have been closed, Islamic books and publications have to be vetted by the state, and Muslims have been sentenced to death and executed for what have been described as ‘illegal religious terrorist activities’.

Of recent concern is China’s support for the war against terrorism and the state’s claim that so-called Uyghur ‘separatists’ in Xinjiang are being financed and trained by Osama bin Laden. In no way must the international community allow such assertions by the Chinese authorities to be used to justify the violation of rights and fundamental freedoms in the Xinjiang region.

MRG calls on China to allow all religious organizations to function freely and to recognize the right to freedom of religion and association in China, Tibet and Xinjiang. China should implement the provisions of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Minorities, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and fulfil its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. MRG also calls on China to ratify and implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.