Authorities continued to arrest and otherwise detain leaders and members of religious groups, often those connected with groups not registered with the state-sanctioned religious associations. Authorities reportedly used vague or insubstantial charges, sometimes in connection with religious activity, to convict and sentence leaders and members of religious groups to years in prison. Due to the lack of transparency regarding law enforcement’s persecution of religious followers, estimates of those imprisoned during the year for their religious beliefs ranged from the low thousands to over 10,000.

NGOs, religious groups, and media sources continued to report deaths in custody, enforced disappearances (often through “residential surveillance at a designated location” – a form of black-site detention utilized by authorities against individuals accused of endangering state security), and organ harvesting in prison of individuals whom authorities targeted based on their religious beliefs or affiliation. NGOs and media reported authorities used violence during arrests and tortured detainees, including by forcing them to maintain stress positions, beating them, and depriving them of food, water, and sleep, and subjected them to forced indoctrination. NGOs reported that some previously detained individuals were denied freedom of movement even after their release.

The NGO Human Rights without Frontiers estimated that as of year’s end, the government imprisoned 2,649 individuals for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief, including 2,102 Falun Gong practitioners, 463 CAG members, 24 Muslims, 40 members of other Christian groups, and 20 Buddhists.

In March, the human rights NGO Dui Hua Foundation published a report entitledPersecution of Unorthodox Religious Groups in China. The report, which examined arrests and sentencing of 42 nontraditional religious groups, concluded, “Adherents of unorthodox religions rarely make their way onto prisoner lists submitted to the Chinese government in bilateral and multilateral human rights dialogues. Their numbers dwarf [the number of] those subject to coercive measures for exercising their political beliefs.” The most common charge was “organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of law,” but charges also included endangering state security and inciting “splittism.” The Dui Hua Foundation’s Political Prisoner Database counted 7,502 prisoners of conscience as of December 31, including Falun Gong practitioners, CAG members, members of other Protestant house churches, Muslims, and Buddhists.

Minghui reported that 172 Falun Gong practitioners died during the year as a result of persecution suffered because of their faith, compared with 132 in 2021.Minghui stated that during the year authorities sentenced 446 Falun Gong practitioners from 28 provinces and regions for their faith and gave them penalties ranging from six months to 15 years in prison. It also reported authorities arrested 3,488 practitioners and harassed 3,843 others. According to the Falun Dafa InfoCenter, “The targeted practitioners came from all walks of life, including former government employees, professors, company managers, teachers, doctors, engineers and accountants.”Minghui stated police often used violence during arrests of Falun Gong practitioners and that individuals died under mysterious circumstances while in custody during the year. In multiple instances, authorities reportedly refused to release the bodies of the deceased to the families, instead cremating them without the families’ consent. For example, on February 1, authorities arrested practitioner Ji Yunzhi in her home. They beat and physically abused her while in custody and she died in a hospital in Chiefeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, seven weeks later. When Ji went on a hunger strike to protest this treatment, authorities reportedly force fed her and repeatedly slapped her in the face. Upon her death, authorities transferred her body under armed guard to a crematorium against the family’s wishes. On April 3, police in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, arrested 88-year-old Cui Jinshi while she was studying Falun Gong in her home with six others. A few hours later, police told her son she had been taken to an emergency room, where a doctor pronounced her dead. After seeing her body, the son said Cui’s throat had been cut. On July 18, police in Zhoukou City, Henan Province, arrested Li Guoxun and his wife for distributing Falun Gong materials. Police raided their home and confiscated their books, computer, mobile phones, and other belongings. The next day, police released Li’s wife and told her that Li was seriously ill; they later told Li’s son that his father died from a stroke. The family was unable to confirm this claim because police had Li’s body cremated without releasing it to the family.

Minghui also reported several cases during the year of Falun Gong practitioners dying in custody after being denied medical parole. Authorities arrested Liu Hongxia of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, in 2021 for putting up Falun Gong posters. She went on a hunger strike in February and authorities reportedly tied her to a bed, force-fed her, and injected her with unknown drugs. When her condition became critical in October, her family applied for medical parole on her behalf, but the Ganjingzi District Court and Dalian City Detention Center denied it. Liu died in prison on November 8. On December 2, Teng Yuguo, arrested in 2020, died in prison of late-stage colon cancer after authorities neglected his medical care for months and then denied him medical parole because he refused to renounce his faith in Falun Gong. Upon his death, they refused to release the body to the family, instead ordering it cremated.

The Falun Dafa InfoCenter stated authorities physically abused and tortured Falun Gong practitioners in custody. In July, authorities handcuffed a former university professor, forced wasabi water into her nose, and sexually assaulted her. In August, authorities tied a photography studio owner to a metal chair for three days. On October 9,Minghui reported staff at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison physically mistreated incarcerated Falun Gong members and recruited other prisoners to take part.

On April 4, theAmerican Journal of Transplantation published an article titled “Execution by organ procurement: Breach of the dead donor rule in China.” The authors stated that having conducted a forensic review of 2,838 papers drawn from a dataset of 124,770 Chinese-language transplant publications, they found 71 instances nationwide in which brain death during organ procurement “could not have properly been declared. In these cases, the removal of the heart during organ procurement must have been the proximate cause of the donor’s death.” According to the authors, “The identity of all prisoner donors is also unknown, and controversy has long centered on whether non-condemned political prisoners like Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghur Muslims have been used as an organ source. In the medical literature, China is thought to be the second-largest transplant country in the world as measured by absolute transplant volume, behind the United States.” An Australian National University article regarding the research said some donors were prisoners of conscience, which the article defined as “people who are imprisoned for who they are or what they believe in.”

Minghui reported authorities continued to collect blood samples and biometrics from Falun Gong practitioners against their will during the year, with some practitioners suspecting that this part of was a continued effort by the government to collect medical information for an organ matching database. In one case, on October 4, police in Jinan City, Shandong Province, arrested Falun Gong practitioner Xu Wenlong and his cousin. According to the cousin, whom they released a few days later, police placed heavy shackles on Xu, drew a sample of his blood, and threatened to kill him. His cousin said police also forcibly took a blood sample from her.

On May 4, the European Parliament adopted a resolution finding that “whereas the organ transplant system in China does not comply with the W[orld] H[ealth] O[rganization]’s requirements for transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways, and whereas the Chinese government has resisted independent scrutiny of the system,” the European Parliament expressed “serious concerns about the reports of persistent, systematic, inhumane, and state-sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners in the People’s Republic of China, and, more specifically, from Falun Gong practitioners.” The resolution stated that this practice “may amount to crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

Minghui stated that during the year, authorities convicted several elderly practitioners. For example, on September 9, the Zhangqiu District Court sentenced Liu Chunping, age 82, of Jinan City, Shandong Province, to one year in prison and a RMB 5,000 ($730) fine for “promoting superstition and undermining law enforcement with a cult organization.” Authorities arrested Liu in October 2021 for distributing informational materials concerning Falun Gong. Authorities in Weifang City, Shandong Province, arrested Wang Zhigeng, an 82-year-old retired teacher, at his home on August 15 for putting up Falun Gong posters Falun Gong in 2019. They sentenced him to three years in prison and a RMB 5,000 ($730) fine.

Minghui stated that in the two months leading up to 20th Party Congress in October, the Party “intensified its harassment of Falun Gong practitioners” in an attempt to ensure “stability” for the congress.Minghui stated that police, officials from the CCP’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and officials from other government agencies and neighborhood committees surveilled Falun Gong practitioners’ homes and attempted to take their pictures, collect their fingerprints, confirm their telephone numbers, and interrogate them as to their practice. In one instance, police in Jiuzhou Town, Cang County, Heibei Province, told a Falun Gong practitioner, “Higher officials ordered us to do this. They ordered us to take pictures to show that we have been here to visit you.”Minghuireported similar incidents occurred in other parts of Hebei, as well as Shandong, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Heilongjiang Provinces, between July and October.

According to theDui HuaHuman Rights Journal, “Acts of clemency for Chinese religious and political prisoners have become increasingly rare in recent years. This decrease is the result of Xi Jinping’s hardline approach to both dissent and unorthodox religions, coupled with a sharp drop in judicial transparency.” The journal reported that in June, the Shaoquan Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong Province reduced the sentence of Falun Gong practitioner Yu Rongxin from eight and one-half years in prison to seven years and 10 months. Authorities arrested Yu and his wife, Xie Qing in 2017 for “organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law.” Xie received a seven and one-half years sentence at that time.

According to the annual report released by the CAG, during the year, authorities arrested at least 10,895 (11,156 in 2021), tortured or subjected to forced indoctrination 3,257 (6,125 in 2021), sentenced 1,901 (1,452 in 2021), and seized at least RMB 240 million ($34.8 million) in church and personal assets. Physical abuse in detention caused the deaths of at least 14 church members, compared with at least nine in 2021). Among these, Liu Jianjun of Jiangsu Province reportedly died in custody on November 29, 18 days after authorities arrested him. An autopsy showed he suffered blunt force trauma to the head and chest, with three fractured ribs. Beijing authorities arrested a woman identified as Chunyang on September 22. According to the CAG, they forced her to maintain stress positions for several days because she refused to divulge church information. She ultimately collapsed, vomited blood, fell into a coma, and died in detention on October 2.

The CAG report stated, “On the eve of the CCP’s 20th National [Party] Congress, many provinces and cities launched a campaign to suppress and persecute CAG under the guise of maintaining stability,” resulting in the arrests of thousands of CAG members. The group said the largest number of arrests, detentions, and sentences occurred in Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangdong Provinces. Authorities reportedly sentenced individuals to long prison sentences for “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement” for safeguarding church items, possessing religious material at home, participating in religious activities, and communicating with foreign media regarding church activities.

Bitter Winter, an online publication that tracks religious liberty and human rights abuses in the country, reported that in August, authorities targeted several churches that refused to join the TSPM. On August 14, police raided the Mentougou branch of the Zion Church in Beijing, detained Pastor Yang Jun and nine congregants, and confiscated their computers. On August 19, officials in Xian City, Shaanxi Province, determined the Church of Abundance (Fengsheng), which they accused of fraudulently collecting donations, was “an illegal social organization” and “liquidated” the church. On August 21, police in Changchun City, Jilin Province, detained nine members of the Changchun Sunshine Reformed Church on the charge of “operating an illegal religious organization” and beat some members, who subsequently required hospitalization. According to the Italy-based NGO Center for Studies on New Religions, on September 9, the Changchun City Civil Affairs Bureau declared the Changchun Sunshine Reformed Church an “illegal social organization.”

In October, the NGO International Christian Concern published itsPersecution Incident Report:China, writing, “With the intensified crackdown against churches – both state-vetted and underground – there is no longer a safe place to be a Christian in China.” NGOs ChinaAid and the Ireland-based Church in Chains reported that on January 25, authorities in Shizuishan City, Ningxia Province, arrested Church of the Rock preacher Geng Zejun and sent him to the Shizuishan Detention Center. Authorities charged him with “organizing and funding illegal gatherings.” According toBitter Winter, at Geng’s trial on July 13, the prosecutor recommended an 11-month prison sentence, but the Huinong District Court sentenced him to 15 months. Geng remained in prison at year’s end. Geng and six other members of his church were first arrested in December 2021 for “severely disturbing the social order,” according to a statement issued by the police. The police stated Geng and the other six individuals had been “involved in illegal gatherings multiple times in the name of Christianity” since September 2021. According to the Human Rights Defense Network, his church refused to join the TSPM.

ChinaAid reported that during the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, authorities detained members of house churches. The NGO said that on February 4, the day of the opening ceremonies, authorities arrested Beijing Divine Love Fellowship elder Xu Yonghai and several church members, holding them first at a hotel and then at a coffee shop near the Desheng police station in Beijing.

In August, according to International Christian Concern, police detained Pastor Lian Changnian, his wife Guo Jiuju, their son Pastor Lian Xuliang, and his wife Zhang Jun, along with their nine-year-old son and others from the Church of Abundance in Xian City, Shaanxi Province, after raiding their homes. Following the arrests, authorities handcuffed the adults and brought them to their church for a staged photograph session, during which authorities announced the detainees’ alleged crimes: illegal gathering, illegal use of a venue, and illegal collection of funds. A church member who witnessed the event said Lian Changnian had several injuries on his head and arms. Authorities released Guo and Zhang and other church members after the photoshoot, but Lian Changnian and Lian Xuliang remained in custody with their whereabouts unknown (“under residential surveillance at a designated location”) in Shaanxi Province.Bitter Winter reported on October 20 that their spouses filed an appeal for their release.

Bitter Winter reported that on September 30, officials in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, arrested Pastor Li Jie and Elder Han Xiaodong of the Covenant House Church. At year’s end, they were being held in a detention center in Yaodu District in Linfen City. According toBitter Winter, on August 19, more than 150 armed police raided a family summer camp run by the church and detained 70 members. At that time, police also searched Li and Han’s homes and seized their Bibles, other Christian books, and documents. According to church members, following the raid, authorities pressured them to sign statements renouncing their church membership and to testify that Li and Han had obtained donations to the church through fraud.

On January 14, theUnion of Catholic AsianNews (UCA News) news agency reported a court in Fenyang City, Shanxi Province, sentenced seven members of the Xuncheng Reformed Church to prison terms of six to eight months for “illegally crossing the border” and smuggling. According toUCA News, in 2020, Zhang Ligong, Wang Runyun, Wang Shiqiang, Zhang Yaowen, An Yankui, Zhang Chenghao, and Song Shoushan traveled to Malaysia with valid passports and visas to attend a religious conference and brought back religious literature. Authorities released Zhang Ligong, Wang Runyun, Wang Shiqiang, Zhang Yaowen, and Song Shoushan in March, according to International Christian Concern. The media outletAnglican Ink reported that on November 3, a court sentenced An Yankui and Zhang Chenghao to one year in prison each, but since they had already served 11 months in preliminary detention, authorities released them before the end of December.

Media reported no change in the status of Catholic Bishop Taddeo Ma Daqin, whom authorities placed under house arrest in Shanghai following his resignation from the CCPA in 2012.

According to ChinaAid, in February, a court in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, secretly tried and sentenced Gao Heng of the Guangzhou Bible Reform Church for “provoking trouble and picking quarrels” after he held up a sign reading “pray for the country” in a Guangzhou metro station in June 2021. The details of his sentence were not announced.

Bitter Winter,UCA News, and International Christian Concern stated authorities detained Pastor Wang Shunping and four other Christians in late August in Nujiang, part of the Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. On September 16, authorities formally charged them with “organizing and financing illegal gatherings.” According toBitter Winter, authorities originally detained the five individuals for refusing to join a state-sponsored church, and their arrest was another example of the government crackdown against Christians who were members of the area’s Nu and Lisu minorities.

UCA News reported on January 12 that the Linhai City Court in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, upheld the seven-year prison term and RMB 20,000 ($2,900) fine for Chen Yu, head of the Wheat Bookstore in Taizhou. Police arrested Chen in 2020 and charged him with “illegal business operation” for selling Christian books. Chen, also known by his social media pseudonym Zhang Mai, allegedly sold more than 20,000 Bibles and other Christian religious books, including some published in the United States and Taiwan, to thousands of customers around the country using the Weidian e-commerce app.

On July 25, International Christian Concern said seven leaders of the Golden Lampstand Church, including Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and his wife, preacher Yang Rongli, remained in detention in Shanxi Province after being arrested in 2021 and charged with fraud. Both Wang and Yang spent years in prison previously for their refusal to join the TSPM, according to ChinaAid. According to International Christian Concern, although local authorities used dynamite in 2018 to destroy the Golden Lampstand Church building in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province; members of the church continued to meet elsewhere. Yang’s brother said authorities denied Yang treatment for her diabetes and visits from her family.

According to ChinaAid, on March 9, authorities in Dalian, Liaoning Province, arrested Christian activist Zhou Jinxia for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after she held a sign outside of the Zhongnanhai, the location of CCP central headquarters and the State Council in Beijing, on February 20, calling on Xi Jinping to repent and accept Christianity. ChinaAid stated Zhou had engaged in such activities more than 50 times in recent years, resulting in numerous detentions.

According to ChinaAid, on March 5, authorities in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, arrested Chen Wensheng while he was preaching the gospel in public and forcibly took him away. Chen had been detained previously for the same activity six times in 2021, according to the NGO. ChinaAid said personnel from Hengyang City National Security, UFWD, and other departments also threatened Chen’s wife and other relatives, reportedly hoping to dissuade him from preaching.

According to reports by Christian media and the NGO Church in Chains, on February 11, authorities in Ezhou City, Hubei Province, sentenced Pastor Hao Zhiwei of the Egangqiao Church to eight years in prison for “fraud for preaching the Gospel” after her church refused to join the TSPM. Authorities placed her in detention in 2019, shortly before they demolished her church building. Church members said Hao’s health declined in prison and she developed pancreatitis. Her lawyer announced that Hao would appeal. Officials also arrested two other women, Hong Ying and Wan Yuanxiang, for collecting offerings for their church, an act the government also deemed to be “fraud.”

On June 1, revised “Measures for the Financial Management of Venues for Religious Activities” came into effect.Asia News andUCA News reported in April that these new rules imposed greater government control over religious activities by regulating donations and offerings and by putting the UFWD and the Ministry of Finance in charge of the finance of religious sites. According toAsia News, this in effect meant that places of worship and their finances could be used “only” per the CCP’s instructions and not on the basis of a local church community’s or a bishop’s instructions. According toAsia News, the new measures essentially treated a religious group as any other NGO, with its finances and operations monitored by the government, and were meant to further promote the Sinicization of religion. The news outlet also stated registration and certification requirements for land and real estate further restricted the underground Catholic Church.Asia News said, “Many official Catholic churches allow underground groups (recognized by the Vatican but not by the authorities) to use their premises, including chapels. Now this will be impossible because it is against the law and the new measures.”

The SARA continued to maintain publicly available statistics on some, but not all, registered religious groups. According to the SARA, there were 42,439 Buddhist temples and 8,349 Taoist temples registered in the country as of the end of 2021. The SARA did not publish the number of registered Islamic mosques, Catholic churches, and Protestant churches. According to 2014 SARA statistics (the most recent available), more than 5.7 million Catholics worshipped in sites registered to the CCPA. The SCIO’s 2018 white paper stated that approximately 144,000 places of worship were registered to conduct religious activities in the country, among which were 33,500 Buddhist temples (including 28,000 Han Buddhist temples, 3,800 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, and 1,700 Theravada Buddhist temples), 9,000 Taoist temples, 35,000 mosques, 6,000 CCPA churches and places of assembly spread across 98 dioceses, and 60,000 TSPM churches and places of assembly. The SCIO white paper also estimated there were more than 384,000 religious personnel in the country: 222,000 Buddhist, 40,000 Taoist, 57,000 Islamic, 57,000 Protestant, and 8,000 Catholic.

The government continued to close down or hinder the activities of religious groups not affiliated with the state-sanctioned religious associations, including unregistered Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists and others. At times, authorities said they shuttered a gathering because the group or its activities were unregistered; at other times, because the place of worship lacked necessary permits. Authorities allowed some unregistered groups to operate but did not recognize them legally. In some cases, authorities required unregistered religious groups to disband, leaving their congregants with the sole option of attending services under a state-sanctioned religious leader. In its annual report, ChinaAid said local governments across the country shut down many congregations that refused to join the TSPM. For example, on April 21, the Dalian Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau in Liaoning Province banned the Anshanghong Church. On May 30, Jiangxi Province’s Hukou County Civil Affairs Bureau banned the Hukou County Jiaxiang Church. On August 19, Shaanxi Province’s Xi’an Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau banned the Xi’an Church of Abundance. On September 26, Fujian Province’s Putian Municipal Civil Affairs Burau banned the Berea Church. An International Christian Concern representative said, “The government’s goal is to see all house churches go extinct so they can fully control Christianity in China.” The CEO of the NGO Release International said in September, “Our partners tell us that churches in China are facing the toughest persecution since the Cultural Revolution.”

International media and NGOs reported the government continued to carry out its nationwide campaign to “Sinicize religion” by altering doctrines and practices across all faith traditions to conform to and bolster CCP ideology and emphasize loyalty to the CCP and the state. The CCP’s 2020 Administrative Measures for Religious Groups further formalized administrative procedures for Sinicizing all religions, while, according to the State Council website, at the National Conference on Religious Affairs held in December 2021, President Xi emphasized the need for religious groups and leaders to “uphold and develop a religious theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, work in line with the Party’s basic policy on religious affairs, and uphold the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation.” In August, ChinaAid stated, “China has spared no effort in its crackdown on religious freedom, requiring that all relevant religious activities be carried out to serve the authorities, that religious information be disseminated with the permission of the authorities, and that believers be brainwashed under the cover of Sinicization of religion[.]”

On June 13,UCA News reported state-sanctioned religious groups, including the Chinese Buddhist Association, Chinese Taoist Association, Islamic Association of China, CCPA, Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), TSPM, and the China Christian Council, issued a joint statement pledging that they would adhere to CCP guidelines for management of religions, including supervision of religious institutes, finances, and properties. The statement said the seven groups sought to “implement the spirit” of the December 2021 National Conference on Religious Affairs.

On February 2,UCA News reported that following the national conference in December 2021, the government promoted a new textbook titledThe Principles of Scientific Atheism for use in colleges and among party members. The book, authored by academic Li Shen, advanced Xi Jinping’s theory that Chinese culture “has always been nonreligious” and his insistence that Karl Marx’s views on religion should be studied thoroughly by the CCP. The book also defended the nonexistence of God and warned of the “harmful effects of religion,” according toUCA News.

In March,Bitter Winter reported that in a document, UFWD deputy minister and SARA director Wang Zuo’an “requested” TSPM pastors study the new directives on Sinicization of religion that emerged from Xi’s speech at the December 2021 conference. The document stated that religions that refused to follow the “correct political direction” should be resolutely suppressed and eradicated, and “only religions that are compatible with socialist society and have been Sinicized can contribute to the stability of our society.”

The government continued to execute its 2018-22 five-year plan to promote the Sinicization of Christianity by “incorporating Chinese elements into church worship services, hymns and songs, clerical attire, and the architectural style of church buildings. According toBitter Winter, a TSPM report to 20th Party Congress in October stated that the “new concept of Sinicization” of Christianity meant “accepting the Marxist view of religion.” In the report, TSPM Committee chairman Pastor Xu Xiaohong said the church should accept its role as outlined by President Xi at the December 2021 conference to persuade believers to support the CCP, not interfere with social life, and not interfere with the education of younger generations. Yu said that because these aims were not yet totally clear to all TSPM pastors, the TSPM would launch a new five-year Sinicization plan in 2023, which would include more standardized sermons to be preached in all churches. Yu said he hoped the plan would lead Chinese Protestant Christianity to “unite more closely around the Central Committee of the Party with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”

ChinaAid reported that on May 23, a TSPM group in Fujian Province held a seminar on “Managing Christianity Successfully in the New Era – the Sinicization of Biblical Interpretation, Exposition, and Application.” Approximately 120 government, academic, and religious figures attended. On June 30, a TSPM group in Fujian Province gave a presentation on “Biblical Sinicization” to 100 faculty and staff members from the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone parish.

Catholic news serviceCrux stated that at the conclusion of the 10th National Congress of Catholicism in Wuhan City, Hebei Province, on August 20, participants promised to “invigorate the Catholic faithful pastorally in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party and agreed unanimously to promote “patriotism, socialism, and the Sinicization of the Catholic Church.” According to the Hong Kong-basedSouth China Morning Post, Politburo Standing Committee member and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Yang told new leaders of the CCPA and the BCCCC on August 23 to remain loyal to the CCP, resist infiltration of foreign forces, and to “ensure that the leadership of the Catholic Church is firmly in the hands of those who love the country and religion.” Wang said that under the new leaders, the Catholic community was expected to fully implement the government’s “Sinicization” policy and firmly uphold the party’s leadership. Wang urged the Catholic leaders to use “Chinese culture, Chinese language, and Chinese expression methods” to interpret and study Catholic scriptures.

The Guangdong Islamic Association reported that on February 23-24, it hosted a two-day training for imams at the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou City to promote the Sinicization of Islam. At the event, provincial imams studied the new measures governing use of the internet by religious groups, a code of conduct for Islamic religious professionals, and Xi Jinping’s speeches.

According to the state media outletXinhua, on September 20, CPPCC chairman Wang also met with the new leadership of the Islamic Association of China after that group’s 11th National Congress. Wang stressed that Islamic leaders should promote the Sinicization of Islam through strict adherence to CCP ideology, socialism, and patriotism. Wang added that Islamic leaders should continue to improve “self-education,” “self-management,” and “self-restraint,” to resolve “outstanding problems.”

The Guangdong Buddhist Association reported that on June 9, its president, Master Minsheng, convened local Buddhist leaders at the Guangxiao Temple to study Xi Jinping’s speeches and review videos and documents from the 13th Guangdong Party Congress. Mingsheng delivered a speech titled “Striving Together on a New Journey to Deeply Promote the Practice of Sinicizing Buddhism in Guangdong.” He called on Buddhist leaders to organize educational activities on the theme of “loving the Party, loving the country, and loving socialism.” The Guangdong Academy for Buddhist Nuns publicized an October 1 flag-raising ceremony commemorating the country’s National Day, after which the group read CCP classic texts to “greet the 20th Party Congress,” which took place later that month.

State media reported that on September 23, at the Shanghai Municipal Conference on Religious Work, then-Shanghai CCP secretary Li Qiang stated that the country must “always adhere to the direction of Sinicization of religion…actively guide religion to adapt to socialist society…and better become an important window to show the harmonious situation of religion in our country.” Li also stressed that “to do a good job in religious work in the new era, we must strengthen the party’s centralized and unified leadership and build a pattern of governance of religious affairs with party committee leadership, government management, social coordination, and religious self-discipline.”

The CCPA news outletChurch News reported that on October 10 in Hubei Province, the Wuhan Religious Circle hosted a speech contest for clergy to “Welcome the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.” During the event, 14 clergy from the five government-sanctioned religious groups gave remarks regarding the “direction of the Sinicization of religions in China” and Catholic leaders explained to contest participants “the values and concepts of catechism that are compatible with the core values of socialism….”

International Christian Concern reported that in the lead-up to the 20th Party Congress in October, police raided several house churches in August and September in furtherance of President Xi’s policy of disbanding house churches or bringing them under the control of the TSPM. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that on August 14, approximately 30 officers raided a teahouse in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, where 50 Early Rain Covenant Church members were meeting. The officers accused them of holding an illegal gathering and detained Xing Hongwei, a Christian writer and translator, for allegedly assaulting an officer. According to one church member, the state security police chief for Wuhou District led the raid and said the Chengdu police department was taking a “zero tolerance” approach to the church holding gatherings. Also on August 14, police raided the Beijing Zion Church’s Mentuoguo location in Beijing and detained Pastor Yang Jun for three days. Police raided the House of Light Church in Changchun City, Jilin Province, during Sunday worship services on August 21. Videos circulated by congregants showed police beating them during the raid, and two congregants reportedly required medical attention. Authorities detained Pastor Zhang Yong and two other church leaders. The three were released the next day. On September 9, the Changchun City Civil Affairs Bureau banned the Changchun Sunshine Reformed Church, claiming it is an “illegal civil organization” and an “illegal social organization.”

ChinaAid reported that on December 9, the Early Rain Covenant Church held an online event titled “Testimony Conference on the 4th Anniversary of the December 9th Crackdown” to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the government’s campaign to suppress the church, which began in 2018. Before the event started, Deyang City police summoned Elder Li Yingqiang on suspicion of “disturbing the social order.” Preacher Dai Zhichao continued to host the event after Li left, but police subsequently summoned Dai as well on suspicion of “organizing activities in the name of a banned social organization.” Nevertheless, the online event went forward and more than 1,000 persons participated.

According toAsiaNews, the regime arrested or disappeared several Catholic clergy prior to the Easter holidays in what sources said was a new clampdown by the regime on the “unofficial” (underground) Catholic Church recognized by the Vatican but not by Beijing. On April 7 in Zhejiang Province, police seized Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Yongjia (Wenzhou) Diocese and put him on a plane to an unknown location in order to prevent him from leading Holy Week celebrations, particularly the Chrism Mass. Authorities detained Shao multiple times previously for his refusal to join the CCPA, the news outlet stated, most recently from October-November 2021. During these detentions, authorities reportedly subjected him to a “thought transformation” process lasting from 10 to 15 days. Shao was ordained a bishop in 2011 with Vatican approval but his appointment was not at that time approved by the two state-sanctioned church bodies – the BCCCC and the CCPA – and he was not among the Vatican-approved bishops recognized by the CCPA as a result of the 2018 Sino-Vatican provisional agreement.

According to ChinaAid, authorities in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, continued their multiyear persecution of the unregistered Trinity Gospel Harvest Church, raiding a two-week-long retreat on April 16 after members shared photographs and videos on WeChat of Pastor Mao Zhibin baptizing six members for Easter. Police arriving on the scene collected identification information, including biometric data and COVID-19 infection status, and conducted facial recognition scans.

ChinaAid reported that in May, the Ministry of Education circulated a survey form widely on social media that required college and graduate students to pledge to refrain from participating in religious activities “inside or outside schools” or wearing religious clothing or symbols.

RFA reported that in December 2021, the Education Bureau of Rong’an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, issued a circular forbidding kindergartens and primary and secondary schools from celebrating “foreign festivals,” particularly Christmas, which the circular called the “foreign crossing festival.” The circular urged local residents to report Christmas celebrations to the police.

ChinaAid reported authorities prohibited groups from gathering for worship services in areas under lockdown as part of the country’s strict “zero COVID” policy. On April 3, authorities detained seven members of the Zion Reformed Church in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, for allegedly violating pandemic restrictions. Police tried to force the members to sign a pledge disavowing their membership in the church. During their detention, authorities confiscated their mobile phones, took blood and urine samples, recorded their voices, and electronically scanned their faces. ChinaAid reported authorities cancelled the May 24 celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians in Sheshan District, Shanghai, during that city’s lockdown, in accordance with the country’s zero-COVID policy.

In May, the government announced that it would again suspend Hajj pilgrimages during the year, as it had done in 2020 and 2021, citing continuing concerns about COVID-19.

The government continued to impose restrictions on Muslim Utsuls in Hainan Province, drawn from a 2019 “Working Document Regarding the Strengthening of Overall Governance over Huixin and Huihui,” which referred to the two predominantly Utsul areas in the province. Such restrictions banned traditional dress (hijabs and long skirts), public signs in Arabic, and “Arab” architectural features on mosques.

The government continued to label several religious groups, including the CAG, Shouters, All-Sphere Church, Guanyin Method, and many others as cults or xie jiao organizations. According toBitter Winter, in August, the government updated its official list, which included more than 20 groups, mainly Christian and Buddhist but also Falun Gong. The human rights publication stated the regime increasingly classified as xie jiao any group the CCP perceived as hostile to the regime, and courts “increasingly interpret the category by including in it even groups that are not part of the official list of the xie jiao.” In May,Bitter Winter reported the government instituted an anti-xie jiao campaign to crack down on the folk religion of the Zhuang minority in Ningming County, Chongzuo Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on the border with Vietnam.

In April,Bitter Winter said the Supreme People’s Procuratorate conducted a show trial of six members of the Association of Disciples. The procuratorate claimed that “a large number” of the group’s believers “have seriously disrupted the social order,” according toBitter Winter. The defendants received sentences ranging from one to four years in prison.

In May, the Falun Dafa InfoCenter published a report examining trends related to anti-Falun Gong activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report described activities of the Ministry of Public Security’s Office of the State Council for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues, colloquially known as the “610 Office,” to carry out “ongoing security campaigns to monitor, arbitrarily detain, punish, and forcibly ‘transform’ Falun Gong believers throughout China – including via torture and extrajudicial killing[.]”

The Dadi Sunshine Cultural Development Center continued to manage the national Anticult Network website under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Security’s Office of the State Council for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues. Launched in 2017, the website primarily displayed information on groups the government identified as cults or xie jiao and laws and regulations pertaining to such groups. The website provided links to services such as psychological counseling for former cult members and searches for missing relatives thought to be part of cults. It also included articles linking cult membership to ill health, immorality, financial hardship, and crime. Additionally, the government website listed approximately 30 local and institutional anti-cult websites around the country.

The Guangdong Anticult Network website published numerous articles during the year with titles such as “The ‘Lord God Cult’ destroyed my home,” “The Deadly Trap – ‘Almighty God’,” and “Under the clutches of ‘Falun Gong’, three generations of doom.” It also published cartoons and animated videos with anticult messages aimed at children.

ChinaAid reported the Religious Affairs Bureau of Guangzhou City’s Zengcheng District created a hotline in July to receive reports of venues established for religious activities without government approval, in addition to reports of “illegal religious activities” that used religion to endanger national security and public safety, undermine ethnic unity, and divide the country. According to the government-run Anticult Network website, Shenzhen City’s Yantian District provided in-person and online anticult training during students’ summer break in August.

Guangzhou City in Guangdong Province continued its multi-year practice of distributing anticult educational literature together with personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer at large-scale COVID-19 testing locations to “build a unified line of defense for epidemic prevention and control and prevention of cults,” according to a July press release from the city’s Haizhu district government.

According toBitter Winter, on September 20, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism published draft revisions of the Measures for the Administration of Border Tourism. In addition to prohibiting travel agencies and tour operators from arranging for tourists to visit areas closed to foreigners, the proposed revisions prohibited arranging for tourists to engage in activities that endangered national security or promoted terrorism, extremism, “ethnic, racial, or religious discrimination, or cults.”Bitter Winter said, “One may assume that this is in fact unlikely, but the regulation offers further evidence of the CCP’s obsessions.”

State media andBitter Winter reported that on August 30, Xi Jinping presented an award to Liu Yanfu, head of the anticult coordination section of the Political and Legal Committee of the Wuhai Municipal CCP Committee in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, for his work setting up “caring homes” (cult deprogramming centers) in the autonomous region. According to the award description, Liu achieved great success with his centers, which became a national model.Bitter Winter reported Inner Mongolia had 83 such facilities as of September 16.

According to media and human rights NGOs, authorities maintained a near ubiquitous surveillance system of religious sites through the development and widespread deployment of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, closed-circuit television (CCTV) and facial recognition software, and social media applications that tracked individuals’ movements. Human rights groups stated authorities increasingly relied on surveillance to monitor and intimidate political dissidents, religious leaders and adherents, Tibetans, and Uyghurs. The technology included facial recognition and “gait recognition” video surveillance, allowing police not only to monitor a situation but also to quickly identify individuals in crowds.

According to International Christian Concern, on May 26, local authorities in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, installed three CCTV cameras outside the front door of the Gangfu house church. Church Pastor Ma Chao said the cameras were installed after local police came to the church on May 20, claiming it was under investigation for holding illegal gatherings. During their visit, police interrogated three church elders and photographed the church’s Bibles and hymn books. Ma said police also came to the church in April to inquire concerning his activities.

On March 1, the Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services took effect, officially banning unauthorized domestic online religious activities, which Christian media reported included broadcasting live and prerecorded religious services. The new measures also directed government regulators to enforce a ban on overseas organizations or overseas individuals and their organizations established in China (i.e., foreign missionaries or missionary organizations) engaging in any religious information activity on the internet. In practice, government-regulated social media apps and internet service providers proactively censored content or, in some cases, party or security personnel directed them to censor content. According to Christian media reports, the new measures also prohibited individuals or organizations from fundraising online “in the name of religion.” The Christian media outletLiCASNews reported on March 13 that the government began issuing permits for online religious services in compliance with the new measures. TheChina Christian Daily reported the government began fully implementing the new measures on September 1. International Christian Concern toldLiCAS News the measures cut off many house churches from a “crucial resource in their ability to preach the gospel” and made operation of a house church or nonstate-sanctioned church “much more dangerous.”

TheChina Christian Daily said that once the new internet regulations took effect on March 1, online religious activities fell precipitously in April. For example, a church in Henan Province told its congregation to drop out of group chats and not to send any religious messages on WeChat, the country’s popular social media platform. A local church in Fujian Province shrank its digital ministries. Government-regulated content moderators removed WeChat accounts whose names contained the word “gospel.” WeChat censored articles published by Christian-related platforms as well. Government-regulated internet providers told some Christian websites, such as that of the Early Rain Covenant Church, to delete religious material, including articles containing key words such as “Christ,” “Bible,” and “church.” ChinaAid said WeChat group administrators “must try to dilute the usage of words related to the Christian faith or choose something irrelevant for the survival or maintenance of the existing group chat.” Censors classified messages containing the words “Heavenly Father” and “Praise the Lord all ye People” as sensitive and restricted content. Individuals told ChinaAid that censors also flagged WeChat messages containing the word “amen.” Internet providers also blocked access to other Christian websites and deleted some altogether. A spokesman for the NGO Release International said the new rules essentially treated Christian religious material on the internet “on par with pornography, drug dealing, and inciting rebellion.” According toChina ChristianDaily, some religious groups managed to avoid such censorship by replacing sensitive religious Mandarin characters (hanzi) with their Romanized spelling (pinyin) or with symbols and emojis.

ChinaAid reported that in April, the WeChat messaging service blocked the Early Rain Covenant Church’s WeChat book discussion group when it detected the word “Christ” in book titles. The error message read, “The word ‘Christ’ you are trying to publish violates regulations on Internet Information Services, including but not limited to the following categories: pornography, gambling, and drug abuse, excessive marketing, [and] incitement.”

On May 4,LiCAS News reported the government shut down the website of the Xinguang Presbyterian Church in Shanghai early in the year. The government declared the church illegal in 2021. The NGO said the action against the Shanghai church was unusual because it was taken by a national authority – the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission in the Ministry of Civil Affairs – instead of by local authorities, as was usually the case for unsanctioned churches.

The WeChat account of the Social Service Department of the government-affiliated China Christian Council, which WeChat had temporarily suspended, was authenticated in June.

ChinaAid reported that on July 11, police and religious affairs bureau officials raided the Shenzhen Trinity Harvest Gospel Church in Guangdong Province during an online service and forced Pastor Mao Zhibin and Elder Chu Yanqing to stop the service they were hosting over Zoom.

ChinaAid reported that on September 1, CathAssist, an app launched in 2013 focused on providing church-related content to believers in China, voluntarily ceased operations after government regulators, in exchange for granting a license, demanded it take a series of actions including suspending sharing, changing its name, modifying content, and significant reducing functionality.

In Cantonese-speaking parts of the country, Christian groups reportedly exercised self-censorship and experienced bans on Cantonese-language social media content followed the implementation of the new nationwide internet religious content rules. ChinaAid reported that in July, the Guangdong Two-Christian Council required member churches and seminaries to “self-examine and correct the pictures, videos, sculptures, inscriptions,” and other materials on their premises, and to report “violations” to provincial religious affairs authorities. According to the Hong Kong-based newspaperMingpao, the domestic version of TikTok (Douyin) banned some Cantonese live-streamers due to the system’s inability to interpret and censor Cantonese content.Christianity Today and RFA reported long-time Christian Cantonese-language websites such as the U.S.-based, 21-year-old Jonah’s House closed in April. The site had been a resource for Bible texts, Bible study materials, hymns, sheet music, sermons, and articles.

On June 6,China Christian Dailyreported that after the new nationwide internet religious content rules came into effect, provinces began recruiting and training “internet religious information examiners.” Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region authorities held qualification examinations, which 29 individuals passed. The regional government also held sessions to inform the five state-sanctioned religious groups how to apply for internet religious information permits. In Shandong Province, city governments created interagency committees drawn from public security departments to implement the new regulations and train department leaders. In Wuwei City, Gansu Province, local authorities created websites and social media accounts to familiarize examiners and would-be users with and facilitate implementation of the regulations. International Christian Concern reported that in June, 127 persons passed the Guangdong Province’s examination to become “accredited auditors of the Internet Religious Information Service.”

Authorities continued to restrict the printing and distribution of the Bible, the Quran, and other religious texts.Bitter Winter reported that in October, the Sanmenxia City Intermediate Court in Henan Province upheld the 2021 conviction of house church pastor Yang Jianxin for “conducting illegal business operations” and “printing and purchasing illegal publications” for printing Bibles for his congregation. Yang faced five-and-a-half years in prison. According toBitter Winter, the prosecutor in the case said printing illegal Bibles created an atmosphere of “spiritual pollution.”

In January, ChinaAid reported that the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong Province upheld the 2020 convictions of three employees of the Shenzhen Life Tree Tech Company – Fu Xuanjuan, Deng Tianyong, and Feng Qunhao – for illegally selling audio Bible players. The three were originally convicted of “running an illegal business” and given sentences of from three to five years in prison and fines of RMB 30,000 to RMB 20 million ($4,300 to $2.9 million). According to ChinaAid, in mid-May, Shaanxi Province’s Xi’an Municipal Intermediate Court sentenced Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of RMB 250,000 ($36,200) for printing Christian books. Authorities arrested the couple in 2021.

The government continued to allow some foreign educational institutions to provide religious materials in Mandarin, which were used by both registered and unregistered religious groups.

Local authorities throughout the country continued to ban the sale and display of religious couplets (banners with poetry), decorations traditionally displayed on door frames during Lunar New Year. Local authorities threatened to fine or imprison anyone caught selling them.

Bitter Winter reported on September 23 that the government continued to Sinicize Hui mosques and other Muslim religious sites in Qinghai, Yunnan, Beijing, and Shanghai as part of the five-year “Sinicization program” focusing on Muslims outside of Xinjiang Province. According to RFA, from June 27-28, CPPCC Chairman Wang visited the Dongguan Mosque in Xining City, Qinghai Province, to inspect the “renovation project” there, consisting of removing the building’s Arabic-style architectural features. State-owned CCTV News broadcast video of his visit on June 30.

Media reported that Sinicization “rectification” began in August to remove the Arabic-style domes and minarets from the Doudian Mosque in Beijing, the largest Arab-style mosque in northern China. The project was expected to be completed in May 2023.

Bitter Winter reported authorities removed the Arab-style dome from the Shanghai Hui Muslim Cemetery in Weijiajiao while the city was under COVID-19 lockdown in the first half of the year.

The Christian advocacy NGO CSW reported authorities demolished parts of the Baoshan Mosque in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, on June 11. Volunteers who had been guarding the building around the clock since local officials announced plans to demolish it in 2021 were summoned by the township government, leaving the mosque unprotected as approximately 80 riot police surrounded the facility. Twenty civilians sustained injuries as a crowd protesting the demolition clashed with police. According to CSW, to justify their plans in 2021, local officials circulated a petition for Hui Muslims to sign that gave the appearance the Hui were calling on the government to “remove evidence of ‘Saudi and Arabic influence’” and to convert Baoshan Mosque into a “Chinese-style” mosque. The entire local Hui community, including the imam, rejected the petition. CSW further reported that of the more than 100 mosques in Zhaotong City, an area with an estimated Muslim population of over 21,000, only three retained their domes and minarets as of June. In a video of the Baoshan Mosque incident obtained by CSW, a local party secretary in Zhaotong City said, “This [removal of mosque domes] is an unstoppable general trend. It’s been ordered by the central government. No one can stop it.”

On July 12, RFA reported authorities in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, demolished the meeting house of the Catholic Youtong Underground Faithful Church in late June because the congregation refused to join the CCPA and therefore had disobeyed the “religious administration of the state.”

ChinaAid’s annual report included photographs showing authorities on August 25 demolishing the Beihan Catholic Church in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, using explosives.

According to SARA data, at year’s end, religious groups ran 94 schools in the country, compared with 87 in 2021. These included 43 Buddhist (37 in 2021), 11 Taoist (10 in 2021), 10 Islamic, nine Catholic, and 21 Protestant. Authorities continued to bar students younger than 18 from receiving religious instruction, but enforcement and implementation of the prohibition varied widely across and within regions. According to the SARA, there were six national-level religious colleges.

According to ChinaAid, authorities in multiple southern provinces raided, shut down, and fined unauthorized religious educators. In December 2021 in a fishing village near Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, several dozen armed police officers raided a church-affiliated school, detaining 20 teachers overnight, confiscating books valued at RMB 200,000 ($29,000), and demanding the demolition of the group’s 600 square-meter (6,458 square-foot) building. Also in December 2021, authorities raided a church school in Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province. On August 8, authorities in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, issued a public notice outlawing Wenzhou Bowen Bible School and Wenzhou Bible School. ChinaAid said authorities also sometimes arrested parents who sent their children to religious schools. According to the NGO, “Many [religious] schools do not dare to release their names or disclose the news stories about repression out of the concern that authorities would be provoked and harass them more severely.” In June, the religious affairs bureau in Dali City, Yunnan Province, fined Ji Chungang RMB 150,000 ($21,700) for organizing a religious training event in Yanghe village.

According toBitter Winter, in April, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education enacted new rules limiting what topics could be taught in classes off-campus, such as private tutoring settings. The commission listed 12 “prohibited situations,” including “promoting religious doctrines, religion, xie jiao, feudal superstitions, and anything similar.” Teachers who violated the prohibitions would be subject to dismissal.Bitter Winter stated rules and practices adopted by schools in the capital often subsequently became the model used by other cities and provinces.

Individuals seeking to enroll at an official seminary or other institution of religious learning continued to be required to obtain the support of the corresponding state-sanctioned religious association. The government continued to require students to demonstrate “political reliability,” and political issues were included in examinations of graduates from religious schools. Both registered and unregistered religious groups reported a shortage of trained clergy.

In May, International Christian Concern reported local authorities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces rejected passport applications of Christians seeking to travel abroad after discovering the applicants’ religious background. In one instance, authorities in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, reportedly rejected the passport applications of multiple Protestant students seeking to travel overseas to study. The NGO reported that local authorities were giving passport applications closer scrutiny after a May announcement by the central government that it would tighten control of “nonessential” foreign travel as a COVID-19 prevention measure. Christians interviewed by the NGO expressed skepticism that the passport crackdown against them was based solely on public health concerns.

The government and the Holy See remained without formal diplomatic relations, and the Holy See continued to have no official representative to the country. On October 22, the Holy See announced that the provisional agreement between the government and the Holy See, originally signed in 2018 for a two-year term and extended for an additional two years in 2020, was again extended for a two-year term through October 2024. The extension followed meetings between Vatican representatives and government officials in Tianjin Municipality on August 28-September 2. Continuing prior practice, neither party made public the text of the provisional agreement.

Media outlets stated that the SARA’s 2021 Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy made no provision for the Vatican to have a role in the selection of Catholic bishops in the country, although the 2018 Sino-Vatican provisional agreement reportedly gave both the government and the Holy See a role. The Holy See press office issued a statement on October 22 that stated, “The Vatican Party is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a productive implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with a view to fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.”Catholic News Agency reported that prior to the renewal, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See was willing to move its unofficial mission in Hong Kong to Beijing as an indication of its interest in improving relations but was waiting for a signal from the government.

Media reported that on November 24, the government installed Monsignor John Peng Weizhao as “Auxilliary Bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese not recognized by the Holy See. In a statement issued on November 26, the Holy See expressed “surprise and regret” that the appointment “did not take place in accordance with the spirit of dialogue existing between the Vatican and the Chinese sides and with what was stipulated in the Provisional Agreement on the appointment of Bishops.” The Holy See noted reports of “prolonged and intense pressure by the local authorities” prior to the civil recognition of Bishop Peng. Officials reaffirmed the Vatican’s “complete willingness” to continue its dialogue with the PRC. On November 28, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he was unaware of the issue and that the government was “willing to continuously expand the friendly consensus with the Vatican side and jointly maintain the spirit of our interim agreement.”

Media and NGOs reported that despite the provisional agreement, the government continued to harass, detain, disappear, arrest, and imprison Catholic clergy who did not join the state-sanctioned CCPA. CSW stated in its October-December quarterly reportChina Voices, “The deal [between the PRC and the Holy See] has not shielded underground Chinese Catholics from oppression. Instead, the underground Catholic Church is under greater pressure. Bishops and priests who do not join the state-controlled ‘patriotic church’ are banned by the government from carrying out church duties, and their church buildings risk being forcibly demolished.” Vatican guidelines from 2019 permitted Catholic clergy to register with the CCPA in order to “foster the good of their diocesan community,” with the caveat that clergy should clarify orally or in writing when registering that they would also “remain faithful to the principles of Catholic doctrine” if the language of their registration declaration did “not appear respectful of the Catholic faith.” But many local clergy continued to criticize the provisional agreement and remained unwilling to register.

Media outlets reported that on May 11, Hong Kong national security police arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong and an outspoken critic of the provisional agreement and the government’s treatment of the church, on suspicion of alleged “collusion with foreign forces,” an offense under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. The police subsequently released him on bail and his case remained pending at the end of the year. Other Catholic clergy remained in custody at year’s end.UCA Newsreported that Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu continued to be detained in an unknown location. According to media reports, authorities originally detained Zhang together with an unspecified number of seminarians in Xinxiang City, Henan Province, in 2021 for using an abandoned factory as a seminary to train priests. In June,Bitter Winter reported that the whereabouts of Bishop Augustine Cui Tai of Xuanhua Diocese in Hebei Province remained unknown since his arrest in June 2020. Cui had been imprisoned off and on since 2007 for refusing to register with the CCPA.

Catholic News Agency reported on September 19 that Vatican representatives visiting the country to negotiate the renewal of the provisional agreement met with Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, the Vatican-ordained but not government-recognized bishop of Tianjin Diocese, who has been under house arrest since 2019 for refusing to join the CCPA.AsiaNewsreported the diocese had been without an “official” bishop since 2005.

In May, International Christian Concern reported local authorities detained at least 10 “unofficial” priests of the underground Catholic Church in Baoding Diocese, Hebei Province, between January and April and held them incommunicado. The missing clergy included Chen Hechao, Ji Fuhou, Ma Ligang, Yang Guanglin, Shang Mancang, Yang Jianwei, Zhang Chunguang, Zhang Zhenquan, Yin Shuangxi, and Zhang Shouxin. International Christian Concern said clergy disappearances were common in Baoding Diocese, the oldest and largest non-CCPA Catholic community in the country, where authorities reportedly subjected detained clergy to months of political indoctrination sessions.

In August,Catholic News Service reported that at the 10th National Congress of Catholicism in Wuhan City, Hebei Province, more than 300 Catholic clergy from across the country “unanimously” accepted the report of the CCPA on its efforts to promote socialism and the Sinicization of the Catholic Church as outlined by President Xi. At the congress, members elected Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing Archdiocese as CCPA chairman, and Bishop Joseph Shen Bein of Haimen Diocese as BCCCC chairman. The bishops issued a joint statement urging Catholic clergy to follow “Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era” in the spirit of the December 2021 National Conference on Religious Affairs.

According toUCA News and RFA, in June, Father Dong Baolu from Zhengding Diocese said authorities “exploited” the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement to demolish his congregation’s worship space in Youtong village, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. Dong said the move was government retaliation for his refusal to register with the CCPA. Dong said he was not surprised authorities destroyed his church, since he was the last priest in the area who had not joined the CCPA. “I am the remaining one among more than 100 priests; certainly, they [the authorities] will not spare me.” He said local Catholics were “disheartened” by the demolition of their church.

In his October report to the 20th Party Congress, President Xi stated the country would “remain committed to the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt to socialist society.”

On August 21, a spokesperson for the PRC embassy in Belgium responded to a journalist’s inquiry regarding forced organ harvesting by saying that such allegations were “seriously misleading and deceiving for the public,” that they were “purely fabricated out of thin air and have no factual basis,” and that they were “preposterous falsehoods spread by the Falun Gong cult and some anti-China forces to smear China, hoodwink the international community, and cover up the nature of the cult.” The spokesperson said, “The selling of human organs and illegal transplant are strictly prohibited by China’s laws,” and that the law stipulated “the donation of human organs shall be made under the principle of free will and free of charge.”