Since the launch of a nation-wide supervision program to inspect the implementation of Xi Jinping’s policies on religion in China’s provinces and municipalities, believers across the country are facing even more intense crackdown on their religious liberties.
A memorial archway at one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism has been forcibly demolished, and the president of the Mount Jiuhua Buddhist Association has been placed under house arrest.
It’s a common practice for Chinese law enforcement authorities to use hotels and hospitals or entire buildings as secret interrogation and indoctrination bases for religious believers and political dissidents. Bitter Winter has uncovered some such centers in the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi.
Local authorities in parts of China are organizing “alternative” events nearby the places of worship in an attempt to deter people from participating in religious activities.
Established in the 19th century, the church and its parish in Shanxi’s Dongergou village was a massive draw for nearby believers and pilgrims alike. The use of the church was prohibited in July, but members of the congregation still hold mass outside it.
The CCP exerts an iron hand at universities across China in an attempt to make them “more patriotic.” Teachers and staff are expelled at the slightest suspicion of their faith.
Any display of disagreement with the Communist Party in China is quashed, even when it concerns the health and wellbeing of an entire town. Nearly 2,000 police officers were sent in to deal with protesting residents in Bahe earlier this month.
Some members of the underground Catholic clergy in China believe that the Vatican-China agreement has exacerbated the persecution of underground Catholics, and they see no hope for their churches to survive.
The Chinese government already maintains a firm grip on citizens’ Internet use. Words and phrases like “Hallelujah,” “Amen,” “Thank God” and “Jesus” are now even more sensitive than they already were to plug into a search engine.
As part of the nationwide campaign, the Wuhan city authorities in Hubei Province demolished a 36-meter-tall Guanyin statue in October. The demolition of Buddhist sites is not only an assault on religious liberties but also on the lives of locals who work there.