China relaxes religion rules

[Digitonomy]

Not too sure what’s going on here - perhaps they are pandering to international opinion, perhaps they’re trying to defuse some domestic pressure, or perhaps there are liberals in the government who pushed this as a first step - meaningless by itself - toward actual tolerance of religious faith.

China rules on religion 'relaxed’
BBC News
Sunday, 19 December, 2004

China has announced new rules on religious groups which it says will end discrimination on grounds of belief…

One of the clauses states: "No organisation or individual may force citizens to believe or not to believe in religions.

“They are not allowed to discriminate against citizens who are believers or non-believers.”…

The BBC’s Francis Markus in Shanghai says that while the official reports say the new rules will protect the people’s legitimate religious rights, the word “legitimate” makes clear that there will be no basic relaxation of policy.

The new provisions also say that “religious bodies, activities and believers should abide by the constitution, laws and regulations to safeguard national unity, racial harmony and social stability”…

But our correspondent adds that many critics are likely to dismiss this move as window dressing at best, or at worst as an attempt to actually tighten state control.