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Heterodox teaching (Chinese:邪教;pinyin:xiéjiào) is a concept in thelaw of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its administration regardingnew religious movements and their suppression. Also translated as "cults" or "evil religions", heterodox teachings are defined in Chinese law as organizations and religious movements that either fraudulently use religion to carry out other illegal activities, deify their leaders, spread "superstition" to confuse or deceive the public, or "disturb the social order" by harming people's lives or property.[additional citation(s) needed][1]
The current law regarding heterodox teachings was established by theStanding Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) in October 1999, based in part on an earlier law from November 1995. A few months later, in April 2000, theMinistry of Public Security published its own guidance on what constituted a heterodox teaching organization, how they would be addressed, and a list and description of 14 religious organizations identified as organizations for suppression (included below). These movements were directly compared to the historical religious movements theWhite Lotus and theRed Lanterns, both widely regarded as cults.
One religious movement that has been consistently targeted isFalun Gong. The passage of the heterodox teachings laws is widely viewed as part of the overall campaign for thepersecution of Falun Gong in the PRC.[note 1] The persecution has drawn condemnation from governments worldwide, with 921 lawmakers and political figures signing a statement in 2020 calling it a "systematic and brutal campaign to eradicate the spiritual discipline of Falun Gong”.[2]
On 30 October 1999, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the “Decision on Banning Heretical Organizations and Preventing and Punishing Heretical Activities”, which called for a crackdown on “heretical organizations such as Qigong and other forms”, and also applied retroactively to Qigong practitioners.
On the same day, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued a joint judicial interpretation named, “Explanation on Questions Concerning the Concrete Application of Laws Handling Criminal Cases of Organizing and Making Use of Heretical Organizations”. The interpretation reads:
The offenses of establishing or using sects to organize, scheme, carry out and instigate activities of splitting China, endangering the reunification of China or subverting the country's socialist system should be handled according to relevant laws on endangering State security offenses, as stipulated in the Criminal Law.[3]
The following 14 organizations and movements were specifically named in the 2000 list of heterodox teachings published by the Ministry of Public Security. This list articulated different organizations that the Ministry had investigated or been involved in the suppression of since at least 1983. The first seven groups on the list were organizations identified by theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and theState Council, while the second group of seven organizations were identified directly by the ministry. A feature of some, but not all, of theChristian organizations on this list is that their leadersclaim to be the second coming of Christ or some other kind of unique church authority.
In addition to the fourteen groups listed above, scholar Edward A. Irons noted an additional eight organizations identified as heterodox groups in various governmental lists and edicts issued beforeXi Jinping succeededHu Jintao asGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, for a total of 22 groups.[5] Those additional groups are:
On September 18, 2017, a new government heterodox website listed a total of 20 groups (all of the 22 groups listed above, but with the notable exceptions ofZhong Gong and thePure Land Learning Association, whose omission is the cause of some speculation), eleven of whom were identified as "dangerous", as opposed to the nine groups receiving the lesser warning to "be on guard" against them.[5] These eleven groups were:
Notes
References
| Legislation | Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Banning Cult Organizations, Preventing and Punishing Cult Activities | 1999 |
| Ministry of Public Security | Notice of the Ministry of Public Security on Several Issues Concerning the Identification and Banning of Cult Organizations | 2000 |
| Judicial Committee of theSupreme People's Court | Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Establishing and Using Cults to Disrupt the Implementation of Law | 2017 |
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