A new report has warned that the Chinese government is using an increasingly complex web of laws and policies to intensify its crackdown on freedom of religion or belief.
The report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said suppression had “not only persisted but expanded”, shifting from demolitions and arrests, to systemic controls across education, technology, trade and culture.
The research revealed that the expansion of these violations was driven by the “sinicisation” of religion, which is an effort to reshape belief to fit Chinese Communist Party ideology.
Kiri Kankhwende from CSW told Premier Christian News China’s efforts are “about putting the party at the centre of everything and spreading their ideology, which is, a communist ideology with no space for God”.
Columnist Ansel Li said this process had taken on a sharper edge since 2023, “moving from rhetoric to policy”.
CSW’s founder president Mervyn Thomas said it was the organisation’s hope that the report would “shed essential light on China’s repressive legal architecture and how it is routinely weaponised to violate freedom of religion or belief and other fundamental human rights”.
The report included case studies, like the detentions of three leaders from the unregistered Linfen Covenant Home Church.
According to CSW, two leaders, Li Jie and Han Xiaodong, were serving prison sentences of three years and eight months on fraud charges, while a third leader, Wang Qiang, was released on bail in March and later received a sentence of one year and eleven months.
Thomas added: “… we urge policy makers, parliamentarians, media and members of civil society who engage with the report to condemn China’s human rights violations vocally, and explore concrete actions that could be taken to hold the Chinese authorities to account.”