Refugee Review Tribunal

AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: CHN17609 Country: China Date: 24 October 2005

Keywords: China – Hebei Province – Catholics – Underground Catholic Church

This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Questions 1. Please provide information about the presence of the underground Catholic Church in Hebei. 2. Please provide information about the attitude of the authorities towards the Catholic Church.

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources: Google search engine UNHCR REFWORLD UNHCR Refugee Information Online

Databases: Public FACTIVA Reuters Business Briefing DIMIA BACIS Country Information REFINFO IRBDC Research Responses (Canada) RRT ISYS RRT Country Research database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. RRT Library FIRST RRT Library Catalogue

RESPONSE

1. Please provide information about the presence of the underground Catholic Church in Hebei. 2. Please provide information about the attitude of the authorities towards the Catholic Church.

The sources consulted indicate that Hebei province has a comparatively large Catholic community and that many of these are in the underground Catholic church rather than the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association. Hebei is generally acknowledged to be one of the stricter provinces in terms of its administration of religious regulations.

The 2001 edition of Operation World states that “Hebei is the heart of Catholicism in China”. Many Catholics there “remain loyal to the Vatican” and have “suffered particularly severely since 1997”. For Christians in general, Hebei “is one of the most rigidly policed provinces”. The population is about 67,415,000 of which 2.3% are Catholics, about 1,550,545 people (this includes members of both mainstream and underground churches) (Johnstone, Patrick et al 2001, Operation World: 21st Century Edition, WEC International – Attachment 1).

The May 2005 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom makes reference to recent arrests of Catholic clergy in Hebei :

The government…continues its repression of the unregistered Roman Catholic Church in China, which maintains its allegiance to the Vatican. There are at least 20 Catholic bishops or priests under arrest, imprisoned or detained, including Bishop Su Zhimin, who has been in prison, in detention, under house arrest, or under strict surveillance since the 1970s. Clergy in Hebei, Fujian, and Heilongjiang provinces were harassed, detained and arrested during the past year. In October 2003, Hebei provincial officials reportedly arrested 12 Catholic priests and seminarians attending a religious retreat. In August 2004, Bishop Gao Kexian dies of unknown causes in a prison where he had been since 1997. In September 2004, the Vatican issued a statement condemning the arrest of eight priests and two seminarians during a religious gathering in Hebei. In April 2005, one week after the death of Pope John Paul II, authorities in Hebei arrested a bishop and two priests, reportedly for their continued refusal to register with the Patriotic Catholic Church (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2005, Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, May http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2005annualRpt.pdf#page=1 - Accessed 20 October 2005 – Attachment 2).

Question 1 of a May 2005 RRT research response examines the situation of Catholics in Hebei generally, and also looks specifically at the capital Shijiazhuan, and other towns Gao Cheng and Nan Dong. It quotes from Charbonier’s guide to the Catholic church in China and recent USDOS reports, indicating that about half of China’s Catholics live in Hebei, and that there has been continuing friction between the unofficial church and the authorities. Clergy are detained regularly, and ordinary church members have also faced various forms of harassment such as fines, loss of employment, periodic detentions and in some cases having their children barred from school. Question 2 of this response is also relevant, as it examines the relationship between the Vatican and the official Chinese Catholic authorities over the last two years (RRT Country Research 2005, Research Response CHN16738, 20 May – Attachment 3).

The following are news and other reports from the past few months on Catholics in Hebei. Some of the arrests referred to are also mentioned in Attachment 2 above.

A September 2005 report from AsiaNews states:

While there are signs of improvement in ties between the Vatican and Bejing, the Hebei government has launched a new campaign of persecution against the clandestine Catholic Church throughout the region. The campaign aims to have all Catholics, especially bishops and priests, registered with the State Office for Religious Affairs and to make them sign up to the Patriotic Association. "It seems we have gone back to the times of the Cultural Revolution, with intransigence and persecution," was the view of one believer. Hebei is the region with the largest number of Catholics (more than 1.5 million), where clandestine Catholics (not recognised by the government) are in strong majority. The campaign is backed by the Religious Affairs Office and by the police. Some government representatives have told unofficial bishops that "from now on, all the clergy, to distribute the sacraments, must have a special membership card conceded by the government." The motive behind this, say the representatives, is to unite the clandestine church with the official church which, in line with the prompting of the Holy See, are leaning more and more towards collaboration and unity. Many bishops of the unofficial church have given indications of participation in the Eucharist with official communities. Until a few years ago, such an admission would have been unthinkable.

The response of the bishops to police pressure in Hebei has been to say that they can accept the membership card from the government but that it is not possible to ask them to join forces with the official church because this would imply registering with the Patriotic Association. The AP is an organisation at the service of the Party, which monitors the faithful. One of its aims, laid down in its statute is that of making a national church grow and flourish, detached from ties with the Holy See. The refusal of bishops to participate is therefore motivated by a faith and canon law. In the show of strength which has ensued, government representatives are threatening prison for all (Guofang, Xing 2005, ‘A new wave of persecution against Hebei Catholics’, AsiaNews, 27 September http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4205 – Accessed 24 October 2005 - Attachment 4).

Another September 2005 report states that the “Vatican news agency AsiaNews” had confirmed that “Father Pang Yongxin, a priest with the unofficial Church in Hebei, was arrested by the police on 2 September”. The Kung Foundation said that a “seminary student Ma Yongjian was arrested along with the priest”. Father Pang was said to be “very active in evangelizing the countryside of Hebei” and in December 2001 had been arrested for carrying out work “without officially registering with the Office for Religious Affairs” and sentenced to three years in a labour camp. On his release a few months ago and he had resumed his activities (‘China jails Catholic priest – Vatican agency’ 2005, BBC Monitoring Newsfile, 5 September – Attachment 5).

A July 2005 report states that Jia Zhiguo, the underground Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Zheng Ding in Hebei, had been arrested by two government officials, according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation (‘Bishop arrested’ 2005, Northern Territory News, 6 July – Attachment 6).

A June 2005 report states that the Rev. Zhao Kexun, aged 75, who was the administrator of the diocese of Xuanhua in Hebei, had been released after two months in detention. The Cardinal Kung Foundation believed that 33 members of seven dioceses in Hebei had been arrested and imprisoned (Ang, Audra 2005, ‘Group: Detained Chinese priest released’, Associated Press Newswires, 6 June – Attachment 7).

A May 2005 report states that according to the Vatican radio, the bishop of Yixian in Hebei had disappeared in April 2001 and had not been seen since. His name was Shi Enxiang and he was 83; there were fears that he had died in prison. Another priest in the same diocese, Father Liu Deli, had also vanished six years ago (‘Chinese Roman Catholic bishop not seen for four years, Vatican says’ 2005, Agence France-Presse, 12 May – Attachment 8).

Another May 2005 report states that according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, seven Hebei priests had been released from detention. They had been detained on 27 April while holding a retreat (‘China releases 7 Catholic priests’ 2005, Manila Bulletin, 5 May – Attachment 9). An AsiaNews report gives details of the arrest of the seven priests, who had “gathered for a spiritual retreat” together with the unofficial bishop of Zhengding. The arrests were made by the Security Bureau and Religious Affairs Bureau of Shijiazhuang, “with dozens of policemen and 9 police cars surrounding the retreat site”. The bishop had recently been released from a period of round-the-clock surveillance, and had been warned to refrain from all religious activity (‘Seven Catholic priests arrested in Hebei’ 2005, AsiaNews, 28 April http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3161 – Accessed 24 October 2005 – Attachment 10).

An April 2005 report states that the Bishop of Xuanhua had been arrested on 3 January (Manthorpe, Jonathan 2005, ‘China’s persecution of Catholics harsh, unrelenting’, Vancouver Sun, 6 April – Attachment 11).

A December 2004 report provides a picture of how the underground Catholic church operates in Hebei. Bishop Julius Jia moves about his diocese in disguise, saying mass and visiting followers, and helped by many volunteers. He regularly spent periods in detention or under house arrest, especially around festivals such as Easter and Christmas (McElvoy, Damien 2004, ‘Another test of faith for China’s hidden bishop’, The Sunday Telegraph, 19 December – Attachment 12).

List of Attachments

1. Johnstone, Patrick et al 2001, Operation World: 21st Century Edition, WEC International

2. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2005, Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, May http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2005annualRpt.pdf#page= 1 - Accessed 20 October 2005

3. RRT Country Research 2005, Research Response CHN16738, 20 May

4. Guofang, Xing 2005, ‘A new wave of persecution against Hebei Catholics’, AsiaNews, 27 September http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4205 – Accessed 24 October 2005

5. ‘China jails Catholic priest – Vatican agency’ 2005, BBC Monitoring Newsfile, 5 September

6. ‘Bishop arrested’ 2005, Northern Territory News, 6 July

7. Ang, Audra 2005, ‘Group: Detained Chinese priest released’, Associated Press Newswires, 6 June

8. ‘Chinese Roman Catholic bishop not seen for four years, Vatican says’ 2005, Agence France-Presse, 12 May

9. ‘China releases 7 Catholic priests’ 2005, Manila Bulletin, 5 May 10. ‘Seven Catholic priests arrested in Hebei’ 2005, AsiaNews, 28 April http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3161 – Accessed 24 October 2005.

11. Manthorpe, Jonathan 2005, ‘China’s persecution of Catholics harsh, unrelenting’, Vancouver Sun, 6 April

12. McElvoy, Damien 2004, ‘Another test of faith for China’s hidden bishop’, The Sunday Telegraph, 19 December