Published by: World Tibet Network News Friday, October 17, 1997

by H. Asher Bolande

BEIJING, Oct 16 (AFP) - China's government on Thursday issued an exhaustive defence against overseas charges of rigid religious control, saying citizens enjoy freedom of worship.

In its white paper on religion, the State Council (cabinet) denounced "pernicious" groups that hide behind the cloak of religion to destabilise the state and conduct illegal activities.

"Religious organisations in China run their own affairs independently," the document said.

It said the constitution guaranteed that no state organ or individual "may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion, nor may they discriminate against citizes who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion."

All religious activities must "conform to laws and regulations," it said. Religious organisations and places of worship must be registered with authorities, it said.

The report came ahead of President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States where activists have vowed to protest reports of religious persecution in China.

"Since the 1980s, some pernicious organisations have sprung up in certain areas of China which engage in illegal and even criminal activities under the signboard of religion," the report said.

Some heads of pseudo-religions "incite people to overthrow the government" and conduct other illegal activities, including acts of fraud, violence and organised promiscuity," it said, adding: "They are a serious danger to the normal life and productive activities of the people."

China's judicial organs punish lawbreakers in accordance with the law, the white paper said.

"No one is punished because of his or her religious belief," it said. News are used to enforce the Communist Party's tight control on speech, which apply across society. Organisations -- be they trade unions or churches -- cannot survive without ties to the party.

State control of religion is strictest in Tibet and Moslem-dominated Xinjiang. In both sensitive border areas, the indigenous ethnic groups' religious lives have been identified as breeding grounds for separatism.

"The Chinese government resolutely opposes attempts to split the country along ethnic lines and any use of religious fanaticism to divide the people, split the country, harm the unity among all ethnics groups or engage in illegal activities and terrorist actions under the signboard of religion," the white paper said.

Officials from Xinjiang and Tibet last month defended their suppression of religious activity deemed dangerous as similar to moves by US and Japanese authorities against the Waco-based Branch Davidian cult and the Aum Supreme Truth cult, respectively.

The white paper denounced "foreign domination" of religious bodies or religious affairs, saying it is prohibited -- a sticking point in China's frozen relations with the Vatican.

China "is willing to improve the relations with the Vatican," it said.

"However, such improvement requires two basic conditions" -- that the Vatican switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and that it "not interfere in China's internal affairs on the pretext of religious affairs."

After the communists swept to power in 1949, the Vatican continued to recognise the nationalist regime in Taiwan as China's government.

Since 1950, the mainland has constituted its own "patriotic" Catholic church and forbidden members from recognising the Pope.

The white paper condemned the Roman Catholic Church at length as a tool of colonialism and imperialism between 1840 and 1949.

The official church has four million adherents and 4,000 clergy, it said. Overseas groups estimate an underground church still loyal to the pope has as many as 10 million worshipers, however.

The white paper admitted Protestantism had grown steadily in recent years.

"Since the 1980s, approximately 600 Protestant churches have been reopened or rebuilt each year in China," the document said.

"There are about 10 million Protestants, more than 18,000 clergy, more than 12,000 churches and 25,000-some meeting places throughout China," it said.

Any activities, such as prayer services or administering of last rites, carried out outside the auspices of official church organisations are considered subversive.