Chinese academics claim that the Vatican-China Agreement follows the “Vietnamese model.” However, they misinterpret it.
Main Content
News
Vatican Signs “Provisional Agreement” with China
Contrary to exaggerated expectations, the Vatican-China agreement has a limited scope—but is described as “the first step in a process”
Believers Coerced Into Leaving Zion Church
Before the shutdown of Beijing’s Zion Church earlier this month, authorities made numerous attempts at coercing believers to leave the church.
Believers Arrested for Protesting Against Cross Removal (Video)
Local authorities forcibly removed the cross from a government-approved Protestant church in Henan’s Dengfeng city, provoking protests from members of the congregation.
Testimonies
Christian Website Shut Down, Its Administrators Arrested
Authorities in Zhejiang shut down a Christian website in 2016 and harassed nine believers who used to run the site.
Buddhist Temples Shut Down Across China
In Xi Jinping’s China, even Buddhism, a religion that has been traditionally practiced in the country, is not safe.
Uyghur Students Expelled From University
More than ten students who were interning at the Medical University of Xinjiang were expelled, other suspended for practicing Islam.
Crosses Removed Under Absurd Pretexts (Video)
Following the widespread removal of crosses in Henan, local governments in Jiangxi Province have also ordered to implement such removals; quite often using reasons that are hard to comprehend.
Weekly Feature
The McDonald’s Murder of 2014: The Crime The Church of Almighty God Did Not Commit
Chinese propaganda still claims The Church of Almighty God was responsible for the murder of a woman in a McDonald’s diner in Zhaoyuan in 2014. Scholarly studies have demonstrated that the crime was committed by a different religious movement and The Church of Almighty God had nothing to do with it.
Articles
“But Is It Really A Religion?”
How China and other totalitarian regimes persecute religious minorities by claiming they are not “real” religions. The paper by Massimo Introvigne in the side event “Myth/Reality? Freedom of Belief, No Discrimination and Tolerance in the OSCE Area,” at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, September 13, 2018.
“The Magic Weapon”: How China Tries To Control Information Abroad
An official U.S. report details the massive efforts deployed by the United Front, under the personal guidance of President Xi Jinping, to manipulate information about China abroad and contain criticism on the issues of religious freedom and human rights
Interviews
“Uyghurs Are Forced to Denounce Their Faith to Survive”
Uyghur human rights scholar and activist Zubayra Shamseden tells Bitter Winter that CCP sees all Uyghur as enemies, is engaged in the largest detention of an ethnic group since World War II, and has now extended its repression to other Muslim minorities.
New Age Is Tolerated in China —As Long as It Does Not Challenge the Status Quo
Australian scholar Paul Farrelly, the leading expert on New Age in China, tells Bitter Winter how New Age literature and teachings came from the West to Taiwan, and from there to Mainland China. Unless it challenges the status quo, New Age appears to enjoy a surprising toleration in China.
Documents
NGOs urge US to impose sanctions on Xinjiang, Tibet
Bitter Winter and its parent organization CESNUR have joined several other NGOs that signed an appeal by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation calling for sanctions against the CCP officers who committed atrocities in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Open Letter to the Italian Minister of Economy
An Open Letter to the Italian Minister of Economy, Mr. Giovanni Tria. While Discussing Economy with China, Do Not Forget Religious Liberty Bitter WinterBitter Winter reports on how religions are allowed, or not allowed, to operate in China and how some are severely persecuted after they are labeled as “xie jiao,” or heterodox teachings. We […]