Chinese Offical on Freedom of Religious Beliefs
2004-03-09 11:55
by Mr. Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State
Bureau of Religious Affairs
February 20, 2001 , Beijing
Mr. Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State Bureau
of Religious Affairs, said at a conference on
February 19, 2001 in Beijng, that the Chinese
government highly respects the freedom of
religions, but will never allow the existence of
evil cults in the country.
Respecting freedom of religions and guaranteeing
independent running of religious groups are two
basic principles of China's religious policy.
Stressing that the Chinese people now enjoy full
freedom of religious beliefs, Ye cited that
religious believers in China have now exceeded
100 million, among whom there are more than 10
million Christians, four million Catholics, and
18 million Moslems.
Up to 1996, there were more than 85,000 worship
sites nationwide for practitioners of Buddhism,
Islam, Taoism, Christianity and Catholicism to
conduct religious activities, Ye said. The
number of religious professionals in China has
reached 300,000, while those of religious groups
exceeded 3,000 and higher-learning religious
schools amounted to 74, respectively, said Ye.
China's religious circles maintain exchanges and
contacts with religious groups in more than 70
countries and regions, Ye said.
People from the religious sector also play an
active role in the country's political life,
with some 17,000 people with religious
affiliation elected as deputies to the National
People's Congress and members of the National
Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference.
Though the government grants full freedom to
religious beliefs, Ye stressed that evil cults
like the much-condemned Falun Gong can go
nowhere in the country since the Chinese
government will never allow any evil cult to
harm its people and jeopardize society.
The Chinese government classified Falun Gong
under the category of evil cults given the
destructive consequences it caused to society. A
string of criminal activities of Falun Gong
fully exposed its anti-human, anti-society and
anti-science nature, Ye said.
The cult has claimed 1,600 lives in the Chinese
mainland, leading to suicides, suicidal blazes,
self-mutilation, and even children killing their
parents, Ye said, noting that any responsible
government will not hesitate to take actions to
prevent such tragedies from happening.
As for Falun Gong in Hong Kong, Ye said that the
Falun Gong group here also takes instructions
from Li Hongzhi, leader of the evil cult.
Recently, Falun Gong activities in Hong Kong
have gone increasingly internationalized and
politicized, Ye said.
Hong Kong's Falun Gong group has now peeled off
its disguise of "not participating in politics,
not opposing the government and not joining
force with any political forces," and has
targeted directly against the central government, he said.
Some people and media in Hong Kong have already
expressed doubt on whether the group's
activities are in line with the creeds under
which the group was registered, Ye said.
He warned that any group or individual
attempting to use Hong Kong as a base for Falun
Gong activities or as an anti-China base to
hamper the implementation of "one country, two
systems" and harm Hong Kong's prosperity and
stability is doomed to failure. The Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (SAR) government
is a responsible government, Ye said, adding
that he believes that the SAR government is wise
and capable enough to handle the Falun Gong
matter in Hong Kong.
Ye delivered his speech, entitled "The
Development of Chinese Religions in the Past
Century in China," as the first keynote speaker
at an event organized by the Chinese University
of Hong Kong to discuss religions in the past
and their future.
Attending the lecture series were hundreds of
renowned religious leaders and scholars from the
mainland, Hong Kong, China 's Taiwan and the
United States. (Xinhua)
Bureau of Religious Affairs
February 20, 2001 , Beijing
Mr. Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State Bureau
of Religious Affairs, said at a conference on
February 19, 2001 in Beijng, that the Chinese
government highly respects the freedom of
religions, but will never allow the existence of
evil cults in the country.
Respecting freedom of religions and guaranteeing
independent running of religious groups are two
basic principles of China's religious policy.
Stressing that the Chinese people now enjoy full
freedom of religious beliefs, Ye cited that
religious believers in China have now exceeded
100 million, among whom there are more than 10
million Christians, four million Catholics, and
18 million Moslems.
Up to 1996, there were more than 85,000 worship
sites nationwide for practitioners of Buddhism,
Islam, Taoism, Christianity and Catholicism to
conduct religious activities, Ye said. The
number of religious professionals in China has
reached 300,000, while those of religious groups
exceeded 3,000 and higher-learning religious
schools amounted to 74, respectively, said Ye.
China's religious circles maintain exchanges and
contacts with religious groups in more than 70
countries and regions, Ye said.
People from the religious sector also play an
active role in the country's political life,
with some 17,000 people with religious
affiliation elected as deputies to the National
People's Congress and members of the National
Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference.
Though the government grants full freedom to
religious beliefs, Ye stressed that evil cults
like the much-condemned Falun Gong can go
nowhere in the country since the Chinese
government will never allow any evil cult to
harm its people and jeopardize society.
The Chinese government classified Falun Gong
under the category of evil cults given the
destructive consequences it caused to society. A
string of criminal activities of Falun Gong
fully exposed its anti-human, anti-society and
anti-science nature, Ye said.
The cult has claimed 1,600 lives in the Chinese
mainland, leading to suicides, suicidal blazes,
self-mutilation, and even children killing their
parents, Ye said, noting that any responsible
government will not hesitate to take actions to
prevent such tragedies from happening.
As for Falun Gong in Hong Kong, Ye said that the
Falun Gong group here also takes instructions
from Li Hongzhi, leader of the evil cult.
Recently, Falun Gong activities in Hong Kong
have gone increasingly internationalized and
politicized, Ye said.
Hong Kong's Falun Gong group has now peeled off
its disguise of "not participating in politics,
not opposing the government and not joining
force with any political forces," and has
targeted directly against the central government, he said.
Some people and media in Hong Kong have already
expressed doubt on whether the group's
activities are in line with the creeds under
which the group was registered, Ye said.
He warned that any group or individual
attempting to use Hong Kong as a base for Falun
Gong activities or as an anti-China base to
hamper the implementation of "one country, two
systems" and harm Hong Kong's prosperity and
stability is doomed to failure. The Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (SAR) government
is a responsible government, Ye said, adding
that he believes that the SAR government is wise
and capable enough to handle the Falun Gong
matter in Hong Kong.
Ye delivered his speech, entitled "The
Development of Chinese Religions in the Past
Century in China," as the first keynote speaker
at an event organized by the Chinese University
of Hong Kong to discuss religions in the past
and their future.
Attending the lecture series were hundreds of
renowned religious leaders and scholars from the
mainland, Hong Kong, China 's Taiwan and the
United States. (Xinhua)