China: New Online Rules Curtail Religious Freedom Further
Anyone who wishes to use the internet to publish religious content in China will need a permit from 1 March onwards.
The new Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services, which were published last month and will come into force on 1 March, require internet users who wish to post religious content to obtain a permit. The license is available only for any of the five state-approved religious institutions such as the Three Self Patriotic Movement.
The goal is to further limit the scope of public sharing of faith and force all religions to fall in line with Chinese socialism.
For China’s Christians it means that online services, sermons, bible studies or any other religious (social media) messages in the form of texts, pictures, audio and video can be accessed only through state-approved channels. The content has been checked by authorities to make sure it is in line with its socialist values and in support of China’s Communist Party.
Religious institutions such as seminaries can train their students using approved web platforms and applications. Contact with the outside world can be made only through specialized networks where the identity of participants is verified [Global Times].
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Christians in China rely on the internet as their source of information, connection and encouragement more than ever before.
“[In the last two years] online churches meetings have become the new normal,” a local Christian told Open Doors. “This new law now brings the church’s extensive use of the internet for evangelism and spiritual nourishment to a halt. As a result, Christians will be cut off from access to online spiritual resources,” the source said.
With the pressure increasing, some members of China’s underground churches have started to leave chat groups, said the local source. Not knowing how the regulations are going to be implemented, “they decide to play it by ear,” he said.
Law enforcement across China is variable, influenced by local conditions. Church leaders who fall under suspicion can be invited to “drink tea” with the local authorities, which portends a moderate level of interrogation. They also can receive warnings, face administrative detention, and other forms of pressure.
As soon as the new regulations were announced and even before they were implemented, some of Open Doors’ contacts in the country were contacted by local authorities with a friendly reminder to remove religious content they had posted previously and to discontinue religious activities online.
Iran: Further Crackdown on Christian Converts
Although the Open Doors World Watch List 2022 report highlighted some good news from Iran’s Supreme Court, Christian converts continue to suffer from “widespread rights violations”, says a new report.
The announcement of the World Watch List, which was published last week, included one bit of hopeful news, concerning a ruling by Iran’s Supreme Court in November last year, which ordered a review of the sentences of nine Christian converts. The case has been referred to Tehran’s appeal court where a hearing is scheduled for 22 February.
The Supreme Court said the nine men should not have been charged with “acting against national security”, a charge that often is used to convict Christians. Although not a final ruling by any means as the Tehran court will be reviewing the case, it has potential to change the situation for many converts from Islam to Christianity, observers said.
That said, the ‘Annual Report of Rights Violations against Christians in Iran’ published by Open Doors International in collaboration with religious freedom organizations Article18, CSW and Middle East Concern, makes for sober reading.
It said that one of “the most striking trends” in 2021 was the involvement of the influential Revolutionary Guard Corps in the crackdown on the Christian community. In January, the group reported it had arrested a “network” of Christians for “creating moral deviations” and promoting [religious] conversion”, as quoted by Article18.
The report also details the ongoing closure of churches open to Persian-speaking Christians. While there are four Persian-speaking churches in Iran that have remained open, they are closely monitored and can’t welcome visitors or new members, forcing Christian converts to meet for worship in their homes, which is not allowed.
This situation has led to a #Place2Worship campaign by three Iranian Christians who are in prison for their faith. During a few weeks of furlough, they wrote a joint letter and recorded video statements in which they asked the government where they can attend church services after their release in a few years’ time.
To learn more, visit the Annual Report of Rights Violations against Christians in Iran.
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