Welcome to our latest edition of China Voices, a quarterly update on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in China.
The last quarter of 2022 may be remembered as one of the most eventful in China since 1989. A party Congress heralded strongman Xi Jinping’s leadership for the foreseeable future. A protester hung banners from an overpass in central Beijing, denouncing Xi’s dictatorship and his draconian COVID-19 policies. A fire killed at least 10 Uyghurs who were trapped in an apartment block during a lockdown in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. The tragedy quickly sparked vigils and protests nationwide and worldwide. Faced with the outpouring of sorrow and anger, the Chinese authorities made a U-turn on the Zero-COVID policy in December; meanwhile, police began rounding up protesters.
In this update, we look at what Xi said about religion in his speech at the Party Congress, how the head of China’s state-run Protestant Church explains about the Sinicization of Christianity, the renewal of the Vatican’s deal with China on bishop appointments, and how religious communities continue to be targeted by the authorities for ordinary religious activities.
Making or taking religious offerings can now land one in jail. Many house church leaders have already been detained and jailed on fraud charges, and a Christian human rights lawyer has offered his perspective on this development in a comment piece.