Washington, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
More than 12 cities across China introduced measures in the first half of 2026 encouraging or rewarding people for reporting religious activities deemed “illegal” by the government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.
The US-based rights organisation said the measures come amid continued expansion of state surveillance and controls over religious activities in China under President Xi Jinping’s policy of the “Sinicisation of religion”, launched in 2016.
According to HRW, authorities in Honghe prefecture of Yunnan province identified 35 categories of reportable “illegal religious activity” in February. These included conducting religious ceremonies in private homes or other unapproved locations, clergy preaching through livestreams or WeChat groups, distributing religious materials in public places and organising religious education or training without official permission.
In Qinghai province’s Haidong, authorities reportedly directed hotels and travel agencies to screen events held at their premises and report any “suspicious situation”. In Sichuan’s Chengdu, authorities have offered rewards of up to $120 for verified information about broadly defined “illegal” religious behaviour.
HRW said the measures appeared to build on similar reporting initiatives introduced in Xinjiang from 2013 and Guangdong from 2019.
“These measures…send yet another chilling signal to Christians, Muslims, and Tibetan Buddhists in China who have faced intense pressure to closely reflect and follow Han Chinese culture and Chinese Communist Party ideology,” the rights group said.
HRW also linked the developments to amendments to China’s Public Security Administration Punishment Law that came into effect on January 1. For the first time, the law made “illegal religious activities” grounds for administrative detention of five to 15 days, according to the organisation.
The concerns come amid reports of action against independent Christian groups. In June, Amnesty International called for the release of two detained Protestant church leaders and urged Chinese authorities to end the crackdown on religious groups.
Amnesty cited reports from the Early Rain Covenant Church in Jiangyou, Sichuan province, that armed police raided a Sunday service, with more than 30 members reportedly taken away for interrogation. Two church leaders remained detained, according to church representatives.
Photographs and videos shared by a church messaging account reportedly showed congregants surrounded by Beijing’s SWAT personnel during the operation.
Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said the detention of the church leaders represented the latest example of what she described as efforts by Chinese authorities to suppress independent religious activity and enforce state control over belief and worship.
She alleged that authorities had intensified surveillance, raids and prosecutions against religious groups over the past year, adding that members of the Early Rain Covenant Church had faced years of harassment and intimidation.
FOLLOW NOW
