General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsChina Steps Up Crackdown on Christianity
Under President Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.
The crackdown on Christianity is part of a broader push by Xi to "Sinicize" all the nation's religions by infusing them with "Chinese characteristics," such as loyalty to the Communist Party, the AP reports. Islamic crescents and domes have been stripped from mosques, and a campaign launched to "re-educate" tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims. Tibetan children have been moved from Buddhist temples to schools and banned from religious activities during their summer holidays, state-run media report.
This spring, a five-year plan to "Sinicize" Christianity in particular was introduced, along with new rules on religious affairs. Over the last several months, local governments across the country have shut down hundreds of private Christian "house churches." A statement last week from 47 in Beijing alone said they had faced "unprecedented" harassment since February.
Authorities have also seized Bibles, while major e-commerce retailers JD.com and Taobao pulled them off their sites. Children and party members are banned from churches in some areas, and at least one township has encouraged Christians to replace posters of Jesus with portraits of Xi. Some Christians have resorted to holding services in secret.
https://tinyurl.com/yczsv7wb
Freethinker65
(10,033 posts)dembotoz
(16,820 posts)Things that might have been worthy of an ambassador visit just don't matter now
pangaia
(24,324 posts)China is cracking down on ALL religions.
Doreen
(11,686 posts)established that it is only the Christians who are being attacked. This is what is wrong with our administration here in the good ole United States. All religions are being attacked but the Christians are claiming they are the only ones being attacked. I know some people do not want to admit it but we are very close behind China on religious freedom. The only difference is that the extreme far right fundamentalists are the ones who are trying to take power and be the only religion permitted.