The Hindu : International : China amends religious affairs law

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 20, 2004

International

International

China amends religious affairs law

BEIJING, DEC. 19. Communist China has amended its decade-old religious affairs law to suit the new socio-economic conditions while maintaining restrictions on the religious activities of foreign nationals.

The Religious Affairs Provisions, promulgated on November 30 by the State Council headed by the Premier Wen Jiabao, will formally come into effect from March 1, 2005. ``The new provisions are designed to deal with new situations and issues that have emerged in recent years with China's rapid socio-economic development,'' the official media said today. The provisions on foreign nationals' religious activities issued in 1994 remain valid.

The new provisions, a set of comprehensive administrative rules, specifies that the legitimate rights of religious groups, religious sites and the religious people are protected. It offers guidance on religious affairs involving state and the public interests, Xinhua reported.

The drafting of the new provisions has taken six full years, taking into account views and suggestions from people in law, religion and human rights, the report said. China's most popular religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity. There are 100 million religious believers in China among the 1.3 billion population.

PTI

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