China’s Christian groups told to ensure ‘strict’ oversight of religion as Communist Party controls tighten
- Call from top political adviser Wang Huning comes as China’s state-sanctioned Protestant groups meet to elect new leaders in twice a decade conference
- Leaders should ‘adhere to the direction of sinicisation of Christianity’, core values of socialism and traditional Chinese culture, Wang says
The call from Wang, a member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, came as he met Protestant religious leaders during their once in five years national congress in Beijing last week.
The 11th National Chinese Christian Congress, held over Wednesday and Thursday, elected new leaders for the two state-sanctioned Protestant groups in the country, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China and the China Christian Council run state-approved churches and carry out pastoral work. They aim also to address the needs of faith within a socialist society, by balancing religious belief with allegiance to the party and country.
The meetings were led by Wang, whose role as chairman of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – the party’s top advisory body – includes overseeing religious affairs in the country.
The two groups had, over the past five years, upheld the principle that Protestantism in China must be Chinese in orientation and guided the Chinese Protestant community to unite closely around the party and the government, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.
