Votes : 0

Chinese state intensifies control over 'official' religions

ucanews.com reporter, Hong Kong - Fri, Sep 20th 2019

Official paper insists religious groups must toe the party line and practice core socialist values.Chinese state intensifies control over 'official' religionsCatholics attend a Mass at the government-sanctioned St. Ignatius Catholic Cathedral in Shanghai on Sept. 30, 2018. (Photo by Johannes Eisele /AFP)

A leading academic in Hong Kong says the Chinese government is attempting to tighten even further its control over religious groups.

Professor Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the divinity school of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has spoken at length about a consultation paper published Aug. 28 by Beijing’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA).

The document outlines various proposals for how registered religious groups would be allowed to operate in future and called for public comments to be submitted by Sept. 27.

These new management measures represented nothing other than an attempt by the authorities to further strengthen their control over the groups, said Ying.

SARA’s document is called “Measures for the Administration of Religious Groups (Draft for Solicitation of Comments).”

It candidly says that the authorities intended to regulate the management of religious groups and actively guide them to adapt to China’s socialist society in a way that promoted their “healthy” development.

The document has 41 Articles [key points] and six chapters. They are General Provisions, Organizational Structure of a Religious Group, Functions of a Religious Group, Oversight and Management, Legal Responsibility and Supplementary Provisions.

The professor said that in the past, the administration of religious groups had mainly been based on the “Regulations on Registration and Administration of Social Organizations (1991, 1998, 2016 Revised)” and “Implementing Measures on the Administration of the Registration of Religious Social Organizations” (“Measures”) in 1991.

He said the authorities were now trying to devise new ways of managing religious groups, as shown by their revisions to the “Regulations on Religious Affairs,” the development of the work on religions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as well as the revision of the “Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organization” in 2016.

Ying said that the management of religious venues was being treated differently from that of religious groups, and paid little attention to provincial regulations.

He also said the new regulations would have no impact on underground religious groups because they had not been offered any legal status and so were irrelevant. Instead, they would strengthen the control on registered religious groups only.

A Buddhist delegate appears amongst other delegates as they stand during the national anthem at the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 13. (Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP) 
Xi's firm control

 

Article 5 of the document instructs that [religious groups] must “follow the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” “persist in the direction of Sinicization of religion … and practice core socialist values.” This, said Ying, fitted the key points emphasized by State President Xi Jinping on how he wants religious affairs managed.

The content of the consultation paper, he said, maintains groups’ “double registration” with both the business supervisory unit and the civil affairs department, meaning “there is absolutely no relaxation on the threshold for the establishment of religious groups, but rather a further strengthening of control.”

The academic explained that the Religious Affairs department was linked with the business supervisory unit and religious groups must accept its “guidance, supervision and administration.” (Article 6).

However, he wondered what “business guidance” really meant and whether it would translate into a new kind of intervention in the autonomy of religious groups.

Moreover, he also referred to “Oversight and Management”, as mentioned in Chapter 4, which details what needs “supervision and approval” and which businesses would be required to file written reports.

He referenced the authorities’ new power to regulate religious groups’ financial accounting and said this cemented his view that they were seeking comprehensive control on their daily operations.

The professor mentioned two Articles in the consultation document, 5 and 17, and said they showed that the authorities intended to view religious groups as political bodies rather than civil ones.

Regarding Article 14, which clearly stipulates that religious groups must not set up regional branches, Ying pointed out that although there are two national conferences, two provincial conferences and two municipal conferences, the organizations in provinces are not the branches of the national organizations, while the organizations in cities are not the branches of the provincial organizations.

He explained: “This is ‘territorial management’ by the CCP, which means religious groups at all levels are managed by the party at every level. The purpose is to prevent religious groups from becoming civic organizations from top to bottom and detached from their regions. Everything is under the leadership and control of the CCP.”

He also stressed that Articles 20 and 21, which mention “guidance” in the way religious groups  are allowed to operate, confirm religious groups will have no real power at all and can only “guide” religious institutions and religious venues. “Of course, the only one who will really be able to exercise power is the [Communist] Party,” he added.

Ying noted that according to Article 23, an important function of religious groups was “to designate religious professionals” but he believed that this section of the document would also require groups to submit reports to the Religious Affairs Department for their “record-keeping.”

Previously, SARA also issued a number of regulations regarding the keeping of records of groups’ religious personnel. This was yet another method of ensuring control by the party, he said.

One rule dating back to 1991 stipulates that “no identical or similar religious social groups may be established in the same administrative region” and although it is not mentioned in the current document, similar requirements are still in place in the “Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organization” (Article 12: 2) revised in 2016.

Ying said: “So it is still forbidden to establish religious groups, other than patriotic ones.”

In summary, the professor assessed the consultation paper as a brazen attempt to comprehensively strengthen Beijing’s control over religious groups and to reflect Xi Jinping’s overall control over civil society.

Even government-sanctioned religious groups would have to accept the CCP’s tight control, he added.

share :
tags icon tags :
comments icon Without comments

Comments

write comment
Please enter the letters as they are shown in the image above.