Wang Yang: Create a 'religious ideological system with Chinese characteristics'
by Wang Zhicheng

The president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee follows Xi Jinping's "sinicization" program. Fight against "extreme thoughts and heresies". Xinjiang Muslims and underground Protestant and Catholic churches especially targeted.


Beijing (AsiaNews) - Creating and developing "a religious ideological system with Chinese characteristics in line with the demands of the times".

This is what a group of experts, academics, religious figures and political advisors, who gathered in the capital two days ago, under the direction of Wang Yang Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee (CPCP) and member of the conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Wang stressed that the interpretation of religious doctrines and rules is "important and fundamental" to be linked to the "heart of socialist values".

Wang Yang's directives are in obedience to the program launched by Xi Jinping in 2015, in which he decreed that religions should "become synonymous" if they wanted to continue their existence in China.

This sinicization implies submission to the CCP, with independence from foreign religious or political powers (including the Vatican), with the strengthening of "democracy" in religious decisions (removing all power from religious authorities).

As reported by Xinhua, the participants suggested a systematic study of the thought of different religions, taking care to "resist the erosion of extreme thoughts and heresies".

According to several experts, the "sinicization" attempts to subdue above all the Muslims of Xinjiang and the underground Protestant and Catholic churches, transforming the religious personnel into officials of the party-state.