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With respect to judicial guarantee, China stipulates clearly the
penalties for the infringement of citizens' right to freedom of
religious belief. For instance, Article 251 of the Criminal Law
states: "State personnel who unlawfully deprive citizens of
their freedom of religious belief and infringe upon the customs
and habits of minority ethnic groups, when the circumstances are
serious, are to be sentenced to not more than two years of fixed-term
imprisonment or criminal detention." In the Decisions on the
Standards for Filing Directly Received Cases of Infringement Upon
Citizens' Democratic and Personal Rights and Those of Malfeasance,
it is stipulated that a people's procuratorate shall place on file
a case in which a State functionary illegally deprives anyone of
his or her legitimate freedom of religious belief-such as by interfering
in normal religious activities, forcing a believer to give up his/her
membership of a religion or compelling a citizen to profess a certain
religion or adherence to a certain religious sect-and in which the
offense is of an abominable nature and has brought about serious
consequences and undesirable effects. A people's procuratorate shall
also put on record cases of illegally closing or destroying lawful
religious sites and other religious facilities. In recent years
the Chinese judiciary, in accordance with the law, has tried several
cases of infringing upon relevant laws of the State and seriously
hurting the religious feelings of certain believers, and has meted
out punishments to persons responsible for the offenses.
With respect to administrative guarantee, governments at different
levels have set up religious affairs departments to administer and
supervise the implementation of the laws and statutes pertaining
to religion and to put the policy ensuring the freedom of religious
belief into effect. These departments shall not interfere in the
internal affairs of religious organizations and sites.
In China religious organizations and sites for religious activities
must register with the government in accordance with the law, which
is the case in some other countries as well. Applications for such
registration must meet the following basic requirements: a permanent
site and name; regular attendance; a management organization composed
of adherents to the relevant religion; clerical personnel for officiating
religious activities or personnel with qualifications stipulated
in regulations of various religions; management regulations and
lawful income. Government departments shall defer the registration
or only approve temporary registration of religious sites which
cannot completely satisfy these basic requirements or have prominent
management problems. Government departments shall not permit the
registration of, for example, sites for religious activities which
illegally occupy land or violate the statutes of city planning,
which have been set up without authorization or which promote superstitious
activities, such as exorcising evil spirits under the pretext of
religious activities. Once a site for religious activities is registered
according to law it has legal status and its lawful rights and interests
shall be protected. If its rights and interests are infringed upon
the organization in charge of the site is entitled to seek administrative
and legal protection by appealing to the relevant government organ
or taking the case to a people's court. There is no registration
requirement for, to quote from Chinese Christians, "house services,"
which are mainly attended by relatives and friends for religious
activities such as praying and Bible reading.
People's congresses at different levels, which are organs through
which the people exercise their power, and the Chinese people's
political consultative conferences at different levels, which are
playing an important role in the political and social life of the
State, shall supervise the implementation of the policy and laws
relating to the freedom of religious belief. There are about 17,000
religious personages who are deputies to people's congresses or
members of political consultative conferences at different levels.
On behalf of religious circles they participate in the discussions
of important State and social affairs at the people's congresses
and political consultative conferences, and offer comments, suggestions
and criticisms, or submit proposals and motions relating to the
government's work on religion. During the three years from 1993
to 1996 alone the Religious Affairs Bureau of the State Council
heard and responded to more than 50 motions proposed by deputies
to the National People's Congress and the National Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
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