CSW has released a new report today which reveals the complex and repressive legal architecture underpinning escalating violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in China.
The report, titled ‘The Supremacy of the Party: China’s Weaponisation of Legislation and Policy to Curtail Freedom of Religion or Belief’, features contributions from Chinese human rights lawyers living in exile, Chinese columnist Ansel Li, and CSW’s Senior EU Advocate Jonathan de Leyser.
It finds that since the publication of CSW previous reports on FoRB in China in 2020 and 2022, suppression has ‘not only persisted but expanded. FoRB violations are no longer limited to the closure or demolition of community sites or the arrests of clergy. The violations have evolved into more subtle and systemic forms of control, extending across a wide spectrum that includes education, law, technology, international trade and cultural expression.’
The report contends that at the heart of this expansion lies the concept of the ‘sinicisation’ of religion, which refers to an effort to reshape religions comprehensively to make them consistent with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology and to promote allegiance to the party and President Xi Jinping. In the view of columnist Ansel Li, this concept has taken on a sharper edge since 2023, ‘moving from rhetoric to policy’.
The report also provides an extensive list of case studies that demonstrate how these policies and legislation play out in reality, including an in-depth examination of the case of three leaders from the unregistered Linfen Covenant Home Church who were detained in 2022. Two of the leaders, Li Jie and Han Xiaodong, are each currently serving prison sentences of three years and eight months on unfounded charges of fraud, while the third, Wang Qiang, was released on bail on 28 March 2025 and has since received a sentence of one year and 11 months – also on fraud charges – that reflects time served.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘It is CSW’s hope that this report will shed essential light on China’s repressive legal architecture and how it is routinely weaponised to violate freedom of religion or belief and other fundamental human rights. We express sincere gratitude to all who have contributed to this report, whether in writing guidance or expertise, and urge policy makers, parliamentarians, media and members of civil society who engage with the report to condemn China’s human rights violations vocally, and explore concrete actions that could be taken to hold the Chinese authorities to account.’
Notes to Editors: