Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a key policy speech that religions must be independent from foreign influence, as the Chinese government asks domestic religious groups to pledge loyalty to the state.
Hours later, Pope Francis urged Catholics in China to be “united to the rock” of the church in Rome, although it was unclear whether his comments were linked to the speech earlier on Wednesday by Xi.
China is ruled by the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and Beijing attempts to control a variety of religions and their spread.
“We must manage religious affairs in accordance with the law and adhere to the principle of independence to run religious groups on our own accord,” Xi said at a high-level party meeting that sought to unite non-CCP groups and individuals.
His comments were widely reported in state media.
“Active efforts should be made to incorporate religions into socialist society,” Xi said, adding that the party’s religious work should be about winning over the hearts and minds of the public for the party.
As part of its religious policy since the 1990s, the government believes that hostile foreign forces can use religion to infiltrate Chinese society by winning over the population and subverting party rule. It has banned foreign missionary work, refused to acknowledge any appointment by foreign religious entities such as the Vatican, and declared any unregistered religious groups illegal.
Formal relations with the Vatican were severed in 1951, and worship by Catholics is officially allowed only in state-authorized churches outside the pope’s authority. In 2007, then-pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Chinese Catholics urging them to unite under his authority.
On Wednesday in Rome, Francis urged Catholics in China “to live spiritually united to the rock of Peter upon whom the Church is built” during his general audience ahead of an important feast day on Sunday for Chinese Catholics at the shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
The government has said foreign forces are using Islam and Tibetan Buddhism in the western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet to incite local people to defy Chinese rule.
However, religions have spread quickly in the country, which is suffering a crisis in beliefs as people largely abandon communist values.
Since early last year, Zhejiang Province has forcibly removed crosses from more than 400 Christian churches in an apparent effort to reduce the rapidly growing religion’s visibility.
However, the government has been vague about what constitutes foreign forces and whether the term refers to foreign individuals, foreign non-governmental groups, foreign cultural traditions or foreign governments, Purdue University Chinese religions expert Yang Fenggang (楊鳳崗) said.
Such a policy could also be difficult to carry out in an age of globalization and at a time when China wants to promote its culture outside China, he said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese