China intensifies clampdown on Christian orphanage

Apr 24, 2021

HONG KONG: Authorities in communist China have continued a  clampdown on Christian orphanages  under the guise of enforcing new regulations on religious affairs, leaving  thousands of poor and disadvantaged  orphans and disabled children in danger without vital support.

China enforced the new regulations  in February 2018 and since then has  shut down a number of Catholic and  Protestant-run orphanages in various  provinces, according to Bitter Winter,  a magazine on religious liberty and  human rights.

Authorities have accused Christian  groups of proselytising and converting children by using charities under  a repressive clause in the new regulations which says “public interest  charitable activities must not be used  to proselytise by any organisation or  individual.” It also prohibits evangelisation of minors under 18.

Last week authorities in Zhaoxian  in Hebei province shut down Liming  Zhi Jia (House of the Dawn) orphanage which was run by Catholic nuns  from the Sisters of the Child Jesus  congregation. The orphanage was  founded by former Bishop Raimondo  Wang Chonglin of Zhaoxian in 1988.

The orphanage had dozens of disabled children and some adult orphans,  who were forced to move to other  facilities. The authorities denied permission to staff and volunteers to be  in contact with the inmates.

Some speculated that the action  was related to the clampdown on  church facilities and structures operated by the unregistered Catholic  Church in China.

It should be noted that Bishop  Wang, who died in 2010, was recognized by the Vatican but not by the  state as he was not a member of the  state-run Catholic Bishops’ Conference of China and Chinese Catholic  Patriotic Association. Zhaoxian Diocese is run by an apostolic administrator as it remains without a bishop  despite the secretive Vatican-China  deal over bishop appointments.

Another Catholic orphanage in  Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province,  was closed down in August 2019. For  more than two decades, the centre  had served hundreds of poor orphans,  garnering praise from local people.

The authorities claimed the centre  run by Catholic nuns from the Sisters  of the Sacred Heart was involved in  “illegal adoption practices” and that it  was not authorised by the state.

The closure forced more than 100  children to relocate to a state-run welfare house. An employee lamented  that the centre followed all government rules, yet it was shut down only  because of its “religious affiliation.”  — ucanews.com