Free Republic

The totalitarian efforts to suppress and control Christian faith in China have taken a disturbing turn that reflects Beijing’s greater Orwellian aspirations of social control. In the communist nation, in which it is already quite dangerous to be a Christian, some churchgoers must now submit to facial and fingerprint scanning when they come to church. According to Bitter Winter, an online magazine exposing China’s human rights abuses and religious oppression, government thugs set up two biometric scanning stations at the entrance of the Muyang Church in Hubei. Now, before being allowed in to worship, Christians must line up to be...

SHANGHAI — The video app TikTok on Wednesday reversed its decision to block an American teenager who posted a clip in which she discussed the mass internment of minority Muslims in China, and acknowledged that its moderation system had overreached in shutting her out of her account. The incident raised fresh concerns about whether TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, muzzles its users in line with censorship directives from Beijing — an accusation the company has denied. TikTok said the teenager, Feroza Aziz, 17, had been barred from using her personal device to access the app,...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 24 (C-Fam) The State Department’s top official for UN affairs will retire next month after five decades of public service, beginning as a combat-decorated Marine, and including U.S. ambassador to the UN in Geneva. His departure comes after an internal campaign against him by career staffers, propelled by the left-wing media, Democrats in Congress, and the State Department’s inspector general. The campaign against assistant secretary of state Kevin Moley, and his senior advisor, Mari Stull, began shortly after he was called out of retirement to assume his responsibilities in April 2018. Emblematic of the poor state of...

In the midst of a human rights crisis and violent pro-democracy manifestations in China, Judicial Watch has obtained records that expose a troubling partnership between a public American university and the Chinese Communists at the heart of the abuses. The records show that the University of Arizona (UA), a taxpayer-funded institution with an enrollment of about 44,000, paid $100,000 to launch a Confucius Institute on its Tucson campus more than a decade ago and subsequently dedicated nearly $2 million and other public resources to keep it going. Confucius Institutes were founded by the Chinese government and are managed by China’s...

On Hong Kong the Pope Is Silent. Obedient to Beijing Silence on everything that could irritate the Beijing authorities is certainly one of the many prices that the Holy See has agreed to pay, to keep from breaking up the fragile accord on the appointment of bishops that it sealed on September 22 2018 with China.It is a silence to which the first to submit is Pope Francis, usually extremely talkative about everyone and everything, but who on the popular protests that have been raging in Hong Kong for three months has not said word one.And yet from the beginning...

Yore: Pope Francis Goes Silent on Hong Kong Protests as Christians Take Major Role “One who mounts a tiger can never get off.” ~ Chinese Proverb“Hagan Lío.” “Take to the streets.” “Make a Mess.”Pope Francis famously bellowed “Hagan Lio” to the 300,000 young Catholics gathered at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro on July 26, 2013, urging them to shake up the complacency of their lives.Sounding more like the socialist community organizer Saul Alinsky than the Vicar of Christ, Francis prodded young Catholics to take to the streets and shake up the establishment. He challenged that the young people,...

[Catholic Caucus] Homosexualist Bp. Hubbard's Connection to Communist Friendly Hong Kong Cdl. Tong Recently accused of sex abuse Bishop Howard Hubbard is widely known for promoting homosexuality when he was bishop of Albany. A Church Militant article reported that there was "rampant homosexuality among the Albany clergy" when he headed the diocese. Moreover, the article revealed: "Bp. Hubbard helped found and currently sits as vice president of the board of, a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, communist front organization." (Church Militant, "Accused Bishop is Vice President of Catholic-Funded Communist Front Group," August, 23, 2019) The pro-Communist homosexualist Hubbard has a connection to a...

Chinese Government Continues Takeover of Catholic Church in China A Chinese Christian refugee talks about the 'Great Red Dragon' ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - Religious persecution in China continues to escalate as the Chinese government holds socialist training programs for Catholic clergy and summer camps are forced to close. AsiaNews, the official press agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, published a first-hand report Wednesday on a training program for Chinese priests and religious officials held by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  The training program took place from July 21 to July 27 in Beijing for 30 Catholic priests registered with the...

The U.S. Treasury Department has incorrectly labeled China a manipulator of its currency. An important distinction exists between devaluing a currency and currency depreciation. Devaluing implies the People’s Bank of China actively manipulated the value of the Chinese renminbi to gain unfair advantage for its exports. Depreciation simply means the renminbi has lost purchasing power relative to the U.S. dollar, based on market forces. There’s no indication that China is actively devaluing its currency. However, according to the Treasury Department, China met a broad definition of manipulation laid out in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, which says...

[Barf Alert] State-backed Chinese Catholic Church Refute Religious Freedom Violations 07/29/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – State-vetted Chinese Catholic bodies and other officially sanctioned religious organizations have refuted the claim made by the United States accusing the communist authorities of suppressing religious freedom.UCA News reports that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) came forward on July 20 to condemn the U.S. Department of State’s recent ‘Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom’ as it “maliciously hyped” China’s ethnic and religious policies.“The Chinese government conscientiously implements the policy of freedom of religious...

Exclusive Interview: Cdl. Joseph Zen Embattled Hong Kong cardinal: 'We have to defend ourselves' Christian persecution in Communist China has been on the rise as the People's Republic of China (PRC) has become increasingly antithetical to religious liberty.  The Vatican-China agreement reached in September 2018 has intensified the PRC's animosity toward the underground Catholic Church in China and left a wake of confusion for faithful Catholics in China and abroad.  Recent guidelines from the Holy See regarding Catholic clergy registering with the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party, has fueled confusion on top of confusion....

‘The Death of the True Faith’ in China Cdl. Zen's latest dubia on the Holy See's guidelines for Chinese clergy HONG KONG (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Joseph Zen has highlighted serious problems with the Holy See's new pastoral guidelines for clergy registration in Communist China. Having recently met with Pope Francis, Cdl. Zen updated his website on Monday with the full text of his dubia on the Holy See's new guidelines concerning the civil registration of the clergy in China. Zen summarizes his dubia: This document has radically turned upside what is normal and what is abnormal, what is rightful and what is pitiable. Those who...

[Catholic Caucus] "Dubia" by Card Zen on the pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of the clergy in China Hong Kong’s bishop emeritus contributes to the debate over the new guidelines made public by the Holy See. Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – In paragraphs 1 and 2 the document explains the problem and the general solution. 1. The problem is that the government has reneged on its promises to respect Catholic doctrine. In the civil registration of the clergy, it almost always requires the clergy to accept the principle of self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation of the Church...

[Catholic Caucus] China Violates the Accord. A Bishop Rebels There is important news in the “Guidelines” that the Holy See gave on June 28 to the Chinese bishops and priests on the obligation to sign a record of civil registration, “on pain of inability to function pastorally.”The news lifts the veil on a key point of the “Provisional accord,” still secret, on the appointment of bishops, signed by the Holy See and Beijing last September 22.We now know in fact from the “Guidelines” that in this accord communist China has for the first time “recognised the particular role of...

Holy See Urges Chinese Priests to Register With Communist Gov’t Concerns that Beijing will use new guidelines as a bludgeon for underground Church VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Holy See issued guidelines on Friday to priests in China that are causing confusion to the underground Church. The guidelines sought to walk the tightrope of urging clergy toward "obligatory" registration with the Chinese Communist Party while respecting Catholic doctrine. The "Note of the Holy See on the Pastoral Orientations for Bishops and Priests in the People's Republic of China," the official name for the guidelines, was framed as a response to questions from...

A document released by the Fujian authorities requires parish priests and religious personnel to ban minors from church and education; to refuse relations with foreign Catholics; to curb any momentum of evangelization. Meanwhile, the "Global Times" celebrates the Vatican Museums Exhibition and some lectures on "Pope Francis" and "friendship" between China and the Vatican. For Beijing, agreements with the Holy See go hand in hand with the suffocation of the Church.Rome (AsiaNews) - While enthusiastic news is spreading about the "first ever" Vatican Museums exhibition in Beijing (until July 7), or on the "first ever" University of Beijing conference on...

Cardinal Zen: New Vatican Guidelines Allow Joining Another Church Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen has published the following three comments on the Holy See's June 28 Pastoral Guidelines Concerning the Civil Registration of Clergy in China (OldYosef.hkdavc.com, June 29): 1. Holy See? Which department? Who has signed the document?Nobody? It looks so strange! 2. Guidelines (clear and simple): it is allowed to join the Patriotic Association!The Holy See does not intend to force anyone’s conscience (=tolerated minority?) 3. The Provisional Agreement recognizes the Pope as Head of the Catholic Church, so “logically” the Holy See understands and interprets the “independence”...

Bishop Guo Xijin of Mindong: I am a man and not a monkey who favors all the wishes of others     Mindong (AsiaNews) - "I am a man and not a monkey": thus Msgr. Vincenzo Guo Xijin justifies his decision not to participate in the dedication ceremony of the new cathedral in Mindong, after the government prohibited him today from presiding over a mass for the religious professions of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. In recent weeks, Msgr. Vincenzo Guo Xijin, withdrew his request for recognition in order not to submit to the bodies that support the "independence" of...

[Catholic Caucus] New Guidelines: Vatican Encourages Clergy To Register With Regime Church The Vatican has issued June 28 guidelines about the civil registration of Catholic clergy in China. The registration is compulsory according to Chinese law and includes the acceptance of the independence, autonomy and self-administration of the Communist regime church. The guidelines pays lip service to not forcing anyone’s conscience and admits that Catholics suffer "intimidatory pressures" in China. But then it goes own encouraging the registration with the following [wrong] arguments, - that China’s Constitution formally guarantees religious freedom,- that the regime church's independence is not meant in...

[Catholic Caucus] China Is Persecuting the “Underground” Bishops Even After Death. Vatican Uneasy As is known, in order to sign the September 22 2018 secret accord with China on the appointment of bishops, Pope Francis had to pardon eight bishops previously installed without the approval of Rome, who had thereby incurred excommunication.One of these had died two years before, but the government of Beijing demanded and obtained this anomalous posthumous amnesty as well.In exchange, however, Francis did not obtain the corresponding recognition, on the part of China, of the so-called “underground” bishops, consecrated by Rome without the government’s agreement.One of...