President Xi Jinping’s dream of a “big family of the Chinese nation” came closer this Spring Festival, with a concerted drive to assimilate Uyghur Muslims as never before.
Religious Persecution
Churches and Temples Demolished for Made-Up Illegalities
Chinese government officials like to come up with a vast swath of reasons, pretty much all untrue, as reasons to destroy religious sites.
Religious Citizens Routinely Investigated for Being “Spies”
The Chinese authorities have brought religions to the level of political conflicts between nations, and religious individuals are stringently investigated as spies.
The Fate of Bitter Winter’s 45 Arrested Reporters
Great media coverage and two petitions to free them is an occasion to publicly share some details on their capture, detention and present state.
Arrested for Using Chinese Character Deemed Dangerous
In China, where freedom is not free, decorating one’s own home or having a “sensitive” social media username is a license to be arrested or even sent to jail.
Underground Catholic Churches Forced to the Catacombs
Reminiscent of early Christians, Chinese Catholics must move in secret and meet in out-of-the-way places, while priests face arrest if caught.
Is There a Selective Persecution of House Churches in China?
A book by American political scientist Carsten Vala answers the question why some house churches are “tolerated” and others are persecuted in China.
House Churches’ Choice: State-Run Church or Persecution
China’s suppression of religious belief is at its worst since the Cultural Revolution, and Christian house churches are especially targeted.
CCP Cracks Down on Guan Yin Citta and Supreme Master Ching Hai
These two new religious movements are considered xie jiao, and Chinese citizens are forbidden to travel abroad to attend their seminars.
“Not in My Name”. Why Even Atheists Should Defend Believers
Mr. Willy Fautré, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, and Associate Editor of Bitter Winter, delivered the following text, illustrated with slides from pictures of persecution published by Bitter Winter, during the seminar Freedom of Religion in China organized at the European Parliament in Brussels by Mr. Bastiaan Belder, Dutch representative for the European Conservative and Reformists Group (ECR), Mr. Christian Dan Preda, Romanian representative for the European People’s Party (EPP), and Mr. Josef Weidenholser, Austrian representative for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.