ICC Note:

A study by Freedom House on religious freedom in China says that China has been tightening its grip on Christianity since 2012. It found that at least 100 million people are part of a group facing “high” or “very high” levels of persecution. The spillover of this persecution, however, reaches into the “legal, social, political, and economic environment” in China as a whole. The groups that face the harshest persecution are Protestant Christians, Uighur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, and Tibetan Buddhists.

3/13/2017 China (Freedom House) – A Taoist disciple joins the order without knowing when he will be admitted to priesthood. Dozens of Christians are barred from celebrating Christmas together. Tibetan monks are forced to learn reinterpretations of Buddhist doctrine during a “patriotic reeducation” session. A Uighur Muslim farmer is sentenced to nine years in prison for praying in a field. And a 45-year-old father in northeastern China dies in custody days after being detained for practicing Falun Gong.

These are a small sample of the obstacles that Chinese believers encounter when they seek to peacefully practice their faith—products of the ruling Communist Party’s multifaceted apparatus of control. Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the party’s policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime’s political and economic interests.

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