![The launching conference of the Xizang [Tibet] International Communication Center, Lhasa, September 2. From Weibo.](https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BITTER-WINTER-20.jpg)
The ambitious “Xizang [Tibet] International Communication Center” started its work this month.
China Launches Massive International Propaganda Effort on Tibet
Musical “Patriotic Education” in Hong Kong
If regular CCP propaganda does not work with Hongkongers, the Party believes that perhaps karaoke would for adults—and cartoons for children.
China, Future Muslim Imams Submitted to “Patriotic” Military Training
As part of the “patriotic education” campaign, students of China Islamic Theological Seminary went through military exercises and indoctrination.
News from the world
Costa Rica: Constitutional Court Orders Removed Crucifix to Be Reinstalled in Public Hospital
The Director of Hospital México had removed the image in the name of religious freedom of non-Catholics. A nurse sued him and won.
Guru Jára: The End of a Legal Saga
Czech judges finally ruled, defeating a stubborn prosecutor, that Jára and his co-worker Barbora Plášková should be freed from jail.
Pakistan, Anti-Rape Activist Asma Batool in Jail for Blasphemy Charges
The popular YouTuber was arrested for reading an anti-rape poem that allegedly includes a verse offensive to religion.
Testimonies from China
Rizwangul NurMuhammad: “He Was Jailed Just Because He Is a Uyghur, Where Is My Brother?”
On United Nations International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we should not forget the agony of silence for exiled Uyghurs waiting for news of loved ones at home.
CCP Hijacks the Label “Humanistic Buddhism,” Calls for Marxist Interpretation of Buddhist Classics
The 2024 Buddhist Lecture Exchange Conference, with the mandatory references to the Third Plenum, explained what “further Sinicizing Chinese Buddhism” means.
Bodhi Gong Believers Sentenced in Inner Mongolia
The Qigong group, which the authorities failed to eradicate, continues to be active and persecuted in several provinces.
Testimonies from the World
Uganda vs Religious Liberty: An Interview with Scott Morgan
Using as a pretext the “fasting sect” incident in Kenya, with French and Japanese influences, several African countries are cracking down on religious minorities. Now, it’s Uganda.
Japan, Leading Magazine Exposes the Conspiracy Against a School with Unification Church Connections in Senegal
The influential “Weekly Shincho” revealed the political reasons of what it called a “crude and childish” attempt to appease the Communist Party.
Ahmadis in Pakistan: Lawyer Threatened with Disbarment, Four Jailed with False Blasphemy Charges
An attorney has been told he would not be allowed to enter courts if he does not renounce his faith. Four are accused as usual of having burned pages of the Quran.
Interviews
Uganda vs Religious Liberty: An Interview with Scott Morgan
Using as a pretext the “fasting sect” incident in Kenya, with French and Japanese influences, several African countries are cracking down on religious minorities. Now, it’s Uganda.
Op-eds China
Finally, the World Health Organization Admits Chinese Laboratory Origin of COVID “Cannot Be Ruled Out”
None other than WHO Secretary General Tedros, widely criticized during the pandemic for protecting China, now admits the hypothesis cannot be excluded.
Featured China
China’s “Polar Silk Road.” 2. A Threat to Freedom, Ecology, and Human Rights
The Chinese pursuit of its geopolitical interests in the Arctic threatens academic freedom, the environment, and the rights of the indigenous people.
Op-eds International
Norway. Unlike the Innocent Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Russian Orthodox Church Is Not Deregistered: Why?
Concern also mounts about the Russian Orthodox Church’s increasing purchase of properties near military sites in Norway, which poses security issues.
Featured International
Who Are The “Two-by-Twos”?
As members of the secretive movement are in the news accused of sexual abuse, we publish a translation of an encyclopedia entry by the late Italian scholar PierLuigi Zoccatelli, clarifying who they are.
Documents and translations
日本の有力誌がセネガルにある統一教会関連学校に対する陰謀を暴露
影響力のある『週刊新潮』は、共産党をなだめようとする「粗雑で稚拙な」試みの政治的理由を明らかにした。
Świadkowie Jehowy — najbardziej prześladowana religia na świecie
Raport Amerykańskiej Komisji do spraw Międzynarodowej Wolności Religijnej opisuje prześladowania Świadków Jehowy jako fenomen w skali światowej
L’omicidio di Sharon Verzeni. I media si scuseranno con Scientology?
La giovane donna assassinata frequentava Scientology. Prima che si scoprisse che il crimine non aveva nulla a che fare con Scientology, alcuni media e attivisti anti-sette hanno usato la tragedia per attaccare la Chiesa.