Secret Central Committee Document: Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism (Photocopies of the doc attached)

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Document of the General Office of

the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of China
Zhong Ban Fa (2011) No. 18

Notice on “Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism” from the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Education and others agencies, distributed by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council

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To Party committees and people’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, all ministries and commissions of the central government and state organs, all People’s Liberation Army headquarters, all major work units and all people’s organizations:

The Central Government has already approved the “Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism” from the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security and State Administration for Religious Affairs, and is now hereby distributing it to you.  Please conscientiously implement and execute it in accordance with actual conditions.

General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

General Office of the State Council

May 15, 2011
(This document is distributed to municipalities, municipality-level districts and military regiment levels only)

 
Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism
To implement and carry out the state’s principle with regard to separation of education and religion, to enhance and improve the ideological and political education of university students and to effectively resist foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and to prevent campus evangelism, we hereby offer the following suggestions.

I.  Resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism is an important and imperative strategic task

1.  Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee headed by Comrade Hu Jintao as the Party General Secretary from the strategic height of consolidating Party rule and ensuring the state’s lasting political stability has regarded as an important task the ideological and political education of university students to resist foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and prevent campus evangelism, for which  the Party Central Committee has made a series of important arrangements.  Relevant agencies and departments and institutes of higher education in all areas have all conscientiously implemented and carried out the Party Central Committee’s requests, have adhered to the Party’s leadership over institutes of higher education and have adhered to the principle of separation of education and religion.  They have remained committed to strengthening and improving the ideological and political education of university students, actively guiding university students to correctly understand and handle religious issues, strictly managing the ideological and cultural battlefields at institutes of higher education and handling according to the law foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and campus evangelism.  Positive results have been achieved and a good job was done overall.   At present, the ideals and convictions of university students is firm, and the main trend of the ideological and political landscape is positive, healthy and progressive.

2.  With China’s rapid economic and social development and the steady growth of China’s comprehensive national strength, the U.S.-led Western countries are ceaselessly increasing the intensity of their containment of China.  Foreign hostile forces have put even greater emphasis using religion to infiltrate China to carry out their political plot to westernize and divide China.  Foreign forces regard institutes of higher education as key targets for using religion, Christianity in particular, for infiltration.  Under the guise of donating funds for education, academic exchanges, studying and teaching in China, extracurricular activities, training, student aid, etc., they “market” their political ideas and values, roping students into becoming religious believers.  Their infiltration activities are growing, their methods of infiltration are diverse, and the intensity of infiltration is increasing.  Currently, campus evangelism happens on occasion, and a few students have confused ideas [about this] and some are lured into taking part in these evangelistic activities, with a handful even taking part in religious extremism activities.  The real harm and the long-term effects of these phenomena must not be underestimated and forceful measures must be taken to respond actively and effectively, by perfecting the relevant mechanisms and enhancing work cooperation between [government] departments, localities and institutes of higher education.

3.  [Government] departments and institutes of higher education in all areas should take a lofty strategic and comprehensive view and fully realize the importance and urgency of doing a good job in resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism.  Institutes of higher education are an important base for fostering talent, and the college years are a critical time in the establishment of a person’s worldview, view of life and system of values.  The goal of foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education is not just to expand religious influence but even more to vie with us for our young people, our next generation.  Doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism is important to the implementation of the Party’s guidelines for education, is important to the grand hundred-year plan of fostering qualified builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics and reliable successors, and is important to the fate of the country and the fate of the people; it has important and far-reaching implications

4.  Doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism requires unwavering adherence to the principle of separation of education and religion.  The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Education Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Religious Affairs and other laws, regulations and rules clearly stipulate that China observes separation of education and religion and no one may use religion to engage in activities that interfere with the  state’s educational system.  No organizations or individuals may engage in religious activities in schools.  Resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism is highly political and involves many policies.  Based on the need for a high degree of vigilance in carrying out the duty of defending one’s territory, the need to tackle both the symptoms and the cause of the disease through comprehensive control, the need for multi-pronged, coordinated interaction, and the need to seek effective results in accordance with the law and regulations, comprehensively utilize the many legal, administrative and political education means [available], improve the work mechanisms of departmental interaction, with each performing its duties under joint management, build a working structure that closely integrates the three aspect of using education to guide, blocking channels [of infiltration] and handling according to the law to strictly prohibit the spreading of religion and winning of converts at institutes of higher education, strictly prohibit setting up sites for religious activities and holding of religious activities at institutes of higher education, and strictly prohibit the establishment of religious groups and organizations at institutes of higher education.

II.  Educate and guide college students to correctly understand and handle religious issues
5.  Education departments and institutes of higher education must be the first to take up the responsibility.  Adhere to using the system of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics to arm students’ minds, extensively launch activities for the study and teaching and the publicizing and popularization of core socialist values, strengthen propaganda for and education in Marxist views on religion, the Party’s guidelines and policies for education work, and the relevant laws and regulations of the state, so as to guide students to have firm ideals and convictions, to have a comprehensive understanding of the enduring nature of the existence of religion and of the mass character and special complexities of the issue of religion.  Make clear that religious activities must be conducted within the framework of the Constitution and the law and help students improve their ability to resist infiltration.  With regard to students and faculty of faith, their religious faith must be respected; at the same time, do a good job in being thorough and painstaking in political ideological education and the work of guiding (them to) unity, and educate them to  abide by the state’s relevant laws and regulations and religious policies on their own initiative.  Proceeding from political ideological education, management of teaching, and administrative management, defend your own battlefield and control your team well, manage teaching strictly and strengthen control, giving absolutely no opportunity for foreign use of religion to infiltrate and [to conduct] campus evangelism.

6.  Bring into full play the leading role of classroom instruction.  Teaching by classroom instruction is the main channel to educate and guide students.  Strengthen education in dialectic materialism and historical materialism in classes on ideological and political theories.  In a pointed manner, teach about the origins and changes of religion, the Party’s policies and guidelines on religion and the relevant state laws and regulations.  Make education in Marxist atheism the foundational work in resisting infiltration and preventing campus evangelism, enrich the content of classes on ideological and political theories and related classes, and reinforce propaganda and education in various ways.  Deepen the development of resources for political ideological education in various classes and integrate the Marxist view on religion, the Party’s policies and guidelines on religion and the propaganda for and education of the relevant government laws and regulations into the educational system for liberal arts cultivation and for scientific spirit and into the students’ studies in their majors.

7.  Actively expand pathways and channels for education and guidance.  Vigorously strengthen the building of campus culture, actively launch campus activities that are healthy, progressive and rich, and continuously expand the fields for outstanding culture and scientific spirit.  Strengthen the building of  Internet culture on campus, and carry out targeted Internet-based political ideological education, creating a synergy of online and offline education and guidance.  Extensively expand mental health education and psychological counseling, and raise the quality of students’ mental health in practical ways.  Integrate education on resisting infiltration and preventing campus evangelism into teaching students about safety, and prevent missionaries from cozying up to students by taking advantage of the opportunities presented by new student orientation, summer and winter vacations, and volunteer and internship activities. Institutes of higher education in ethnic minority areas need to intensify education and guidance in accordance with the actual situation of multiple ethnic groups and religions. Education and guidance must be carefully designed and meticulously organized so as to convince people with reason, move people with feeling, prevent oversimplification and prevent people from hyping religion.

8.  Launch thorough and meticulous political ideological education.  Ideological and political educators at institutes of higher education, especially political advisors and class advisors, need to conduct extensive heart-to-heart talks with students and learn and grasp in a timely manner the ideological condition of new students, answer difficult questions and dispel confusion, guide their emotions, do a good job in day-to-day ideological political education and management of services, and continuously enhance the appropriateness, effectiveness and emotional appeal of education and guidance.  Persevere in combining solutions to ideological problems with solutions to practical problems. Strengthen employment counseling and services and do a better job of providing financial aid to students from families in financial difficulties.  During religious holidays, make targeted living, study and sports and recreation arrangements for students.

III.  Effectively block the use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and block channels for campus evangelism

9.  Strictly manage religious organizations and personnel entering China.  Based on information provided by relevant agencies on the tendency of some overseas religious organizations to infiltrate, departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should direct embassies and consulates to get clear background information of the relevant religious organizations and personnel, so as to further perfect management of entry visas and to be strict in the issuance of visas and travel documents.  Public Security and State Security organs should promptly detect and give notice of infiltration of institutes of higher education by religious organizations and personnel.  Strengthen border inspection and exit and entry management and resolutely prevent from entering into China foreigners who will use religion to endanger state security and public security.  Work units who invite foreigners to China should work with relevant departments in doing a good job of conducting background checks of those to be invited to China.

10.  Reinforce management of the activities in China of overseas religious organizations and personnel.  Departments in charge of religious affairs should strengthen their management of the religious activities of foreigners in China and in due course introduce the administrative measures for foreigners’ group religious activities in China.  When Public Security organs discover foreigners in China who are evangelizing and engaged in infiltration activities, they and the departments in charge of religious affairs will handle them in accordance with the law. Departments in charge of civil affairs, commercial affairs and commerce and industry should record the information in accordance with the law and strictly supervise those overseas organizations of a religious nature that set up non-government organizations, representative offices and businesses in China, and those that engage in illegal activities should be punished in accordance with the law.   The Ministry of Education will set up a special information databank to promptly collect and circulate information about religious organizations that are infiltrating institutes of higher education and their activities, so that the departments, district authorities and institutes of higher education can share the information.

11.  Purify the social environment related to religious factors.  Relevant departments should manage religious affairs in accordance with the law and strictly differentiate between legal and illegal religious activities, protecting the legal activities and putting a stop to the illegal activities, resist infiltration and fight crime, so as to further establish a good atmosphere beneficial to the healthy growth of college students.  Departments in charge of united front work and religious affairs should strengthen their communication links with those from the patriotic religious groups , uniting with and guiding them to do a good job of working together to resist infiltration and prevent campus evangelism.  Departments in charge of religious affairs should implement the registration system for religious organizations and for sites for religious activities and the approval system for large-scale religious activities and strengthen their administration of internal religious publications.  Relevant departments need to study and formulate laws and regulations for online religious information and online religious activities, clean up websites that violate regulations and clean up online information that is harmful and contains online evangelism.  Departments in charge of cultural affairs, customs, news and publication, and tourism should investigate and deal with cultural products used for religious infiltration.  Investigate and seize religious publications, audio and video products and religious objects mailed from overseas and distributed in institutes of higher education in China.  Investigate and handle the illegal publishing activities of infiltrating organizations and individuals and prevent them from using tourism channels to organize students at institutes of higher education to take part in religious activities.  Party organizations at the neighborhood (township) level and society (village) level should earnestly implement the Party’s policies on religion and strengthen their management of religious activities in accordance with the law, establish a working mechanism for connecting with and serving religious believers, help them in practical way to resolve their actual production and livelihood difficulties, unite with and guide them to jointly create a social environment for the students’ healthy growth.  The news media should correctly guide public opinion and strengthen positive propaganda on issues related to religious factors and prevent hype and sensationalism.

12.  Strengthen the internal management of institutes of higher education.  Institutes of higher education should take as their focal point establishing who is responsible for what, perfect the approval process, refine supervision measures and clarify handling measures, and establish a sound system to manage the ideological and political battlefield.  Strict examination and approval procedures for public lectures, seminars, talks and publications [should be in place] to prevent the use of school resources to spread religion and erroneous thinking.   Strengthen the management of teaching and research institutions [that engage in] the study of religion, have Marxist atheism permeate the building of branches of learning and the cultivation of talent, and adhere to Marxism as the guide in launching research in the study of religion.  When hiring, meticulously check the person’s political relationships, business relationships and moral and ethical relationships, so as to prevent [their] using the classroom lectern to disseminate religion. Strictly control the approval process for student group activities so as to prevent campus evangelistic activities in the form of financial aid and sponsorship.  Strengthen management of campus Internet networks so as to strictly prevent evangelism via campus networks.  Correctly handle the relationship between expanding openness in education and resisting infiltration.  Under the guidance of departments in charge of foreign affairs and civil affairs, implement stringent screening of the backgrounds of foundations and non-government organizations with which you cooperate and firmly reject those that add religious conditions or are engaged in evangelistic activities.  Rigorously review the sources of aid for overseas research projects and the purpose of the research and do not approve those in which hostile forces are involved or that are related to religion or other sensitive topics.  When bringing in original teaching materials from overseas and using foreign online educational resources, closely “guard the pass” and resolutely resist using religion to engage in ideological and cultural erosion.

IV.  Deal with the problems of foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and campus evangelism according to the law
13.  Manage in accordance with the law illegally established venues for religious activities and activity sites at or in the vicinity of institutes of higher education.  For those venues for religious activities and activity sites illegally established in the vicinity of institutes of higher education, departments in charge of religious affairs will work with Public Security organs to abolish them according to the law.  For those religious activity sites established on campus, the institutes of higher education and the departments in charge of education will work with departments in charge of religious affairs to abolish them.  For those who engage in illegal and criminal activities at illegal religious activities sites or in the name of evangelism, Public Security organs will investigate and handle [the matter] in accordance with the law.

14.  Handle in accordance with the law illegal evangelistic activities or activities related to religious factors occurring on and off campus.  For various types of organizations and individuals that engage in campus evangelism, administrative departments in charge of religious affairs, public security, civil affairs, industry and commerce and other relevant departments should work closely together and handle [the matter] in accordance with the law.  For those who use various pretexts to try to rope students into taking part in off-campus activities related to religious factors, they should be stopped in accordance with the law and a good job needs to be done in persuading the students through education.  For various types of religious organizations that have been established on campus, the institute of higher education and the education department should work with religious affairs departments to abolish these organizations in accordance with law, and those that have engaged in illegal and criminal activities will be dealt with in accordance with the law by public security organs.  For those who engage in campus evangelism or religious activities on campus, the institute of higher education should stop them in accordance with law, and for students and school employees who participate in religious activities, the institute of higher education should criticize and educate them and discipline them according to the actual circumstances.

15.  Handle in accordance with the law actions that take advantage of the opportunity of educational and teaching activities to engage in evangelism.  For those faculty members who take advantage of the opportunity of educational and teaching activities to engage in evangelism, the institute of higher education should discipline them according to the actual circumstances.  For those who engage in illegal religious activities, they should be handled according to the relevant state laws and regulations and regulations in the hiring policy of the institute of higher education.  For those instructors who are bent on evangelizing and refuse to mend their ways despite repeated admonition, they must be resolutely removed from their teaching position, and for severe cases, they should be fired.  For those suspected of engaging in illegal and criminal activities, the relevant departments should handle the case in accordance with the law.  For foreign teachers and students, the institute of higher education should educate them in China’s religious policies and relevant laws.  As soon as they are found to be evangelizing, they should be promptly dissuaded and stopped, and those who stubbornly cling to [evangelizing] should be fired or expelled.

V.   Effectively strengthen organizational leadership of the task of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism 

16.  Establish a specialized work coordination mechanism to resist foreign infiltration of institutes of higher education and to prevent campus evangelism.  This specialized coordination mechanism shall be headed by the United Front Work Department of Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and the Ministry of Education, with the participation of the ministries of foreign affairs, public security,  and state security,  and the State Administration for Religious Affairs and other departments.  Its office will be headquartered in the Ministry of Education.  Under the leadership of the Central Committee’s Leading Group for Propaganda and Ideological Work and the Joint Conference for Religious Work, the specialized coordination mechanism shall perform its function of investigation and study, policy guidance, organization and coordination, implementation of management, and supervision and inspection, so as to create a powerful synergy.  Departments in charge of education, foreign affairs, public security, state security, religion and other affairs should formulate and perfect relevant regulations and specific methods of implementation in accordance with their respective functions.  The Party Central Committee and other relevant departments of the state organs should actively support and work with each other according to their respective functions and take up management responsibilities in practical ways.

17.  Party committees and governments of various localities should strengthen their leadership in resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism. In keeping with the principle of “the one in charge is the one responsible for the management of his jurisdictional territory,” the task of resisting infiltration and preventing campus evangelism should be incorporated into the agenda of important tasks, and policies and measures that are suitable to the actual local circumstances need to be formulated so that important issues can be promptly studied and handled.  Leading Party and government cadres should visit institutes of higher education often to understand the work situation and strengthen  their guidance and leadership in a targeted way.  In various provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government) and in municipalities (districts) where there is a dense concentration of institutes of higher education and where therefore the religious workload is heavy, a specialized coordination mechanism should be established accordingly.  Special coordination mechanisms at all levels should strengthen their self-construction and establish mechanisms for contacts and coordination, information consultation, rapid response, and supervision and review, so as to carry out the various work measures.

18.  Party committees at institutes of higher education shall unify their leadership at their own schools for the task of resisting infiltration and preventing campus evangelism.  The top party and government leader is the No. 1 responsible person, to whom branch leaders are directly responsible.  Other members of the leading groups shall undertake corresponding responsibilities within the scope of their division of labor.  Set up and perfect the party committees in institutes of higher education that will be responsible for overall work.  In this way, party committees and government leaders will have joint management while departments in charge of student affairs and united front work will take the lead and departments of various functions shall perform their respective functions, with each taking up its corresponding responsibilities. Party and Youth League organizations and ideological and political education working groups will establish working mechanisms that bring their roles into full play.  Establish a system for case investigating and reporting of information, perfect the mechanisms for early warning and emergency handling so as to promptly and properly handle budding, tendentious problems.

19.  Party and Youth League organizations at institutes of higher education shall play an important role in resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism.  The right point of integration needs to be identified between launching activities and bringing functionalities into play and resisting infiltration and preventing campus evangelism.  Bring into full play the strong fighting force of grass-roots party organizations and the vanguard role model of party members, and bring into full play the superiority of Youth League organizations in organizing, guiding and serving students.  Strengthen school- and department-level Party organizations and college student Party branches and do a good job in developing Party members among outstanding students, young instructors and academic leaders.  Persevere in Party construction supporting Youth League construction, to unite the majority of college students  around the Party.  Strengthen educational management of Party and Youth League members, and stick to [the rule that] Party and Youth League members must not be religious.

20.  Strengthen construction of working groups.  Focus on the education and training of [the following people] at institutes of higher education:  leading cadres, grass-roots level Party and government cadres, instructors of ideological and political theories, instructors of philosophy and social sciences, advisors, head teachers, Youth League cadres and security guards.  Augment the various types of training classes and research and study classes with the Marxist view of religion, the Party’s religious guidelines and policies and the relevant state laws and regulations so as to raise their analytical and work abilities with regard to religious questions.  Organize experts and scholars from institutes of higher education and people in the field to strengthen research of major theories, important policies and key difficult issues so as to continuously raise their scientific level in the task of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism.

21.  Strengthen appraisal and inspection.  Incorporate the task of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism into the appraisal and inspection of leading groups and leading cadres at institutes of higher education, into the appraisal and evaluation system of students’ political ideological education, and into the scope of the comprehensive management assessment of all levels of public security at institutes of higher education and its surrounding areas, so as to ensure that various duties are carried out.  For serious problems that arise because duties were not carried out or work was not properly performed, the persons responsible and the corresponding leader must be gravely held accountable in accordance with the relevant regulations.  The specialized coordination mechanisms shall formulate methods of appraisal and inspection, focus on key inspections, examination patrols, random spot checks and other ways to strengthen supervision and inspection and resolve problems promptly upon discovery.

Keywords: education, colleges and universities, religion, opinions, notice

Secretary Office of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Printed and issued on May 15, 2011
(8,330 copies printed)


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Secret Central Committee Document: Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism (Photocopies of the doc attached)

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