A magazine on religious liberty and human rights
CCP Pursues the Forced Assimilation of Minorities into Chinese Culture.
December 10 was Human Rights Day. Bitter Winter celebrates it with four articles. The third is devoted to the real meaning of religious “sinicization.”
Continuing its campaign to eliminate religions of all kind, Chinese officials have systemically been dismantling religious symbols from places of worship.
China’s efforts to sinicize – or “make Chinese” – all official religions in the country have gained momentum in recent months. Evidence of this acceleration is, literally, blowing in the wind.
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.
A resident of Shandong was first detained in 1996 for her religious belief. This year, authorities arrested her again for the same reason.
Churches that had been demolished due to their dilapidated state cannot be rebuilt now due to ongoing religious persecution in China.
A farmer in Xinjiang was detained for teaching Arabic eight years ago. In 2017, he was arrested again for his old “crime” and sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
Chinese authorities are implementing policies to supervise Christian preachers, including evaluation tests and auditing of sermon content.
To obtain licenses from government authorities, preachers have to prove their knowledge of Chinese culture and socialism rather than Christianity.
Authorities in Liaoning seek to monitor foreign religious groups more strictly in the near future.
