WRITTEN QUESTION E-2895/02 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Arrest of Mr Wei Jingyi, bishop of the unofficial Chinese Catholic Church.
Date: 2002-10-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: China, Christian, EU relations, arrest, freedom of religious beliefs, religious group

C 110 E/120

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.5.2003

There is also coordination within the Commission. The relevant Directorates-General (Regional Policy,
External Relations and EuropeAid) work in close cooperation on these matters and, on the basis of the
substantial progress achieved in coordination among Interreg, PHARE and CBC on the one hand and
among Interreg and TACIS on the other, departments are currently drawing up a framework for Interreg
and CARDS.

The coordination of actions and the definition of responsibilities within the framework of the Structural
Funds is a matter that the Commission keeps under constant review.

As regards the matching of resources for programmes to objectives, it should be noted that the rules
governing assistance from the Structural Funds require for each programme the fixing of targets and
quantified indicators which are checked throughout the life of the programmes by means of the ex-ante,
mid-term and ex-post evaluations of assistance.

(2003/C 110 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2895/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(14 October 2002)

Subject: Arrest of Mr Wei Jingyi, bishop of the ‘unofficial’ Chinese Catholic Church

On 9 September Mr Wei Jingyi, bishop of the underground Catholic Church and former secretary of the
Conference of Chinese bishops loyal to the Holy See, was arrested by police in the city of Qiqihar. This
arrest seems to be part of a crackdown by the Chinese authorities in their deliberate policy of repression
towards the spiritual authorities of the Catholic Church loyal to the Holy See, a Church which has more
than eight million members compared with the state-sponsored Catholic Church which has five million
members.

According to independent sources, fifty or so bishops belonging to the underground Catholic Church are
currently in prison, under house arrest, under strict police supervision or in hiding.

Is the Commission aware of this arrest which comes after a long series of other arrests? Does it have any
other information to suggest that this is a real crackdown on ‘unofficial’ Churches? If so, what initiatives
does it intend to take to prevail upon the Chinese authorities to respect freedom of religion and religious
belief?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(13 November 2002)

The Commission thanks the Honourable Member for his information on the arrest on 9 September 2002,
by police forces in Qigihar, of Mr Wei Jingy, priest of the ‘non-official’ Chinese Catholic Church.

The Commission considers the freedom of religion and belief to be a fundamental human right, and raises
this issue regularly in the framework of the Union’s dialogue on human rights with China.

Regarding the situation of
the Commission shares the
the ‘non-official’ Catholic Church in China,
Honourable Member’s concern. While the ‘National Working Meeting on Religion’, held in December
2001, appeared to signal a greater openness toward mainstream religions operating in China, recent
information indicates that restrictions on Catholic underground churches have not been relaxed.

The Commission will continue to closely monitor the Chinese government’s respect for freedom of religion
and belief, and will continue to express concern about violations of this fundamental right, including the
on-going crackdown on persons exercising their religious beliefs.