China’s new “Regulations on the Online Behaviour of Religious Clergy” will significantly restrict religious content online. They are the latest in a series of religious regulations introduced since 2018 to sinicise religion, making it Chinese in character and bringing it into submission under the Chinese Communist Party. These sets of regulations increase control over the five recognised religions in China: Buddhism; Catholicism (the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association); Islam; Protestantism (the Three-Self Patriotic Movement); and Taoism.
The new “Regulations on the Online Behaviour of Religious Clergy”, published by the National Religious Affairs Administration on 15 September, apply to all religious leaders in China and are so restrictive that Bitter Winter (an online religious liberty and human rights magazine) commented, “The clergy may still speak – but only through the Party’s megaphone.”
The second of the regulations’ 18 Articles states that “Religious clergy engaging in online activities should love the motherland, support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party [and] uphold the socialist system” and says that they should also “accept government supervision and social oversight”, while Article 3 states that “Religious clergy should uphold the core socialist values, follow the principle of independence and self-management of our country’s religions, [and] adhere to the Sinicisation of our country’s religions.”
The new regulations ban online preaching or teaching except on platforms operated by registered religious organisations that hold an Internet Religious Information Services Licence, ban religious instruction on personal social media accounts, livestreams, WeChat groups or informal forums, and also ban online religious participation of minors, fundraising and selling of religious merchandise.
Penalties will be imposed on clergy who violate the regulations and refuse to correct their behaviour and platforms hosting non-compliant content may be ordered to warn, restrict or shut down offending accounts – the regulations state that “In severe cases, the department shall recommend that the relevant religious group, religious school, or activity venue suspend their religious activities or revoke the clergy’s status.”
Article 18 concludes by warning that “Religious clergy from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as foreign religious clergy, should refer to these regulations when conducting online activities within the country.”
(Bitter Winter, China Aid)