Although the draft rules reaffirm China’s commitment to respecting “the freedom of religion of foreigners,” the list of possible new sanctions and requirements could make recognition more difficult.
Specifically, the draft rules include a list of activities that foreigners should not conduct inside China, such as “interfering or dominating the affairs of Chinese religious groups,” advocating extremist religious ideas, “using religion to carry out terrorist activities,” or “Chinese.” Interfering in the appointment or management of pastor members. ”
“What Pope Francis said about Uighurs is completely baseless,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular briefing on Tuesday. “China has 56 ethnic groups, and the Uyghur ethnic group is an equal member of the Chinese nation’s large family.”
Zhao added, “The Chinese government has always treated minority groups equally and protected their legitimate rights and interests.”
Ryan Thame, an Islam expert at the University of Nottingham in China, said the rules “reflect a long-standing fear of foreign pollution, which has become more important in the current climate.”
“I was annoyed by the frequent use of words like‘ China’s religious freedom ’, which points to a nationalist desire to purify religions of‘ foreign ’influence,” he said. “These laws may seem like an attempt by Chinese religious practitioners to seal their fellow believers outside the country. Discourses visiting religious figures also require a bureaucratic approval process that dissatisfies most visitors.”
For all the government’s talk of criminalizing Islam, most Muslims in China study the domestic version of the faith, Amnesty International’s China researcher Alkan Akade said, often in more stylish Chinese mosques than Islamic ones. Muslims who make contact with groups abroad often face further scrutiny, and some Uyghurs have ended up in reduction camps after returning from Hajj or pilgrimages to Muslim countries.
Akad said the Chinese state is very concerned about the growing popularity of Wahhabi ideology and Ga connections with Saudi Arabia, which have developed largely over the past decade.
Danren Boiler, a Xinjiang expert and post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Colorado, said, “Islam itself is already more or less criminal in Xinjiang, so I believe (there are new rules) considering the Hui practice in the East. It has long been more closely linked to global religious movements such as the Saudis and the Tabligh Jamaat. ”
However, experts who spoke to CNN agreed that the new rules would have a major impact on Christian groups, which have never been liberated, having previously avoided scrutinizing Muslims.
“I think it’s reasonable to assume that it mainly targets Christians, who have been considered a tool of foreign infiltration, especially since the opium war,” Akade said.
There has been widespread tolerance for people preaching to foreigners in the past, although they are officially licensed and make sure no Chinese citizens provide services. “Some Christian groups are less arrogant about this than others and missionaries are operating illegally in China,” Thume said.
The new rules could tighten the gray area around foreign religious practice, issuing stricter new requirements for keeping services, including a description of the primary religious texts used, a list of all attendees’ nationalities and visa status, and permission to use the building. Such activities.
Upon receipt of such application, the draft rules state that “the Department of Religious Affairs of the Provincial People’s Government shall request the Department of Religious Affairs of the County-level People’s Government, the Department of Religious Affairs of the City People’s Government divided into districts. Will decide. ”
Such a red tape, and the possible penalties for avoiding it, could force services to foreigners, and the use of a valid Bible or Koran instead of foreign published texts.
While specific punishments are not listed in the new proposal, there is a suggestion that they could be serious, including seeking “counter espionage” laws and other state security laws against violators.
“The way the rules are written and the way Chinese laws are interpreted by the security services indicates that foreigners who participate in religious activities with Chinese nationals or even conduct research on those activities are detained or detained or Can be tortured. ” .
CNN’s Ben Westcott contributed to the reporting.
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