NEWS//China's new law against Christianity

AsiaNews reported on November 25 that China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) has released draft rules on a proposed law that will require total separation between foreign and Chinese religious groups.

Although the stated reason for the draft is to gain feedback from Chinese citizens, these drafts “tend to remain largely unchanged” when they become law.

The article states:

The proposed rules are divided into 40 articles with guidelines on when and where foreigners and Chinese can meet, under what circumstances, as well as on the content of their meetings, their religious materials (books, videos, etc.), their volume, and on legal responsibilities.

Chapter 4 (Articles 30-36) is impressive because it includes “punishments” under the law and cites laws and regulations governing religious activities and public security and anti-espionage legislation.  The proposal seems informed by the view that religious activities by foreigners are part of an "espionage" operation.

Although Article 4 states: “China respects the freedom of religious belief of foreigners in the territory and protects the religious activities of foreigners in the territory according to the law,” every individual and group, and every activity must be subject to very strict conditions and must be verified by the Religious Affairs Office at the city, county, province, and national levels.

Given such restrictions and red tape, foreign religious groups will struggle to set foot in China. interacting with underground Christians will become impossible and illegal. Interacting with members of official Christian Churches without SARA’s monitoring will become harder.

Source: Read the entire article here at Asianews.it