China faces growing threats of religious infiltration and extremism

Almaty. September 13. Silkroadnews – China has faced growing threats of religious infiltration and extremism, The Straits Times reported.
“China is facing heightened threats from foreign infiltration via religion and from the spread of extremism, a top official for religious affairs said on Tuesday (Sept 12), after strict new rules were passed to manage religious practice in the country,” the report said.
It is noted that President Xi Jinping has stressed the need to guard against foreign infiltration through religion and to prevent the spread of “extremist” ideology, while maintaining tolerance for traditional faiths that he considers a cure for social diseases.
Last week China’s parliament adopted updated rules regulating religious issues, the agency reminds, to strengthen national security, fight extremism and restrict faith outside the organizations recognized by the state. The new rules are planned to come into force in February.
“China’s five officially sanctioned religions - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity - vowed to fight “desinicisation” at a forum on the topic held in Beijing last week, according state media. China has seen a revival of religious practice in recent decades after faith was effectively banned during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s,” publication reads.
According to official estimates, the number of believers is around 100 million people, yet the real number could be many times higher, as many believers are unregistered by the authorities. Authorities require places of worship to be officially registered, but many believers avoid official temples, preferring private gatherings, often called “underground” churches.