China president issues warning against foreign infiltation through religion

Chinese president Xi Jinping has warned the officials of the nation against foreign infiltration in China by means of religion as well as against religious extremism.

"We must resolutely resist overseas infiltration through religious means and guard against ideological infringement by extremists," Xi said, as quoted by the state-run newspaper People's Daily.

According to the report, he gave the warning during the Chinese Communist Party's conference on religious affairs on Saturday, saying that officials should work to unite the religious and the non-religious people, making sure to guide the former to serve in the interest of the country. Regulation of religious affairs should be in line with the law and the rights of religious people should be protected. Religious groups, meanwhile, should abide by the government's laws, adhere to the leadership of the party, and support the socialist system.

He reportedly said that faith-based organizations should "merge religious doctrines with Chinese culture, abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and devote themselves to China's reform and opening-up drive and socialist modernisation to contribute to the realisation of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation."

The president expressed that religious groups and their followers should be educated in the core values of the socialist movement, and they must be guided with "ideas of unity, progress, peace and tolerance." Furthermore, he said that they should "interpret religious doctrines in a way that is conducive to modern China's progress and in line with our excellent traditional culture." Religion must not interfere with education, the judiciary, and government administration.

He also told the officials that they should work on the guidance, planning and supervision on religious work, and they must be "as "unyielding Marxist atheists, consolidate their faith, and bear in mind the Party's tenets."

He gave the warning amid criticism that his regime had been more stringent toward churches and religious groups.

The government had previously launched a campaign to remove crosses from structures -- having taken down around 1,200 crosses in Zheijang province in past few years -- a move that has sparked complaints and protests. Moreover, Christian lawyer Zhang Kai, who had defended churches in China, was detained for seven months for allegedly "endangering state security," among other charges, although his confessions on national television is believed to have been made under duress. According to the South China Morning Post, a number of foreign non-government officials have also been arrested, while female government workers were warned through a campaign poster that foreign men might have secret agendas.