Bruce Humes

The 23 Illegal Religious Activities

1. Forcing others to believe in religion
2. Forcing others to fast
3. Operating a madrassa on one’s own
4. Holding a traditional marriage ceremony
5. Condoning prayer by students
6. Using tradition to interfere in modern daily life
7. Organizing a hadj outside of the official channel
8. Exacting a traditional tithe from believers
9. Establishing a religious venue without permission
10. Hosting religious activities without a government certificate
11. Religious activities involving several districts
12. Printing and distributing materials for promotion of religion
13. Accepting foreign donations for religious end-uses
14. Going abroad to participate in religious activities
15. Proselytizing without permission
16. Criticizing patriotic religious devotees
17. Infiltration by foreign religions
18. Instigating disputes between different sects
19. Promoting a cult
20. Circulating statements that dispute official policy
21. Congregating to march or demonstrate
22. Establishing anti-revolutionary bodies
23. Other activities that damage social order.

These instructions were, according to author Wang Li-Xiong, posted at the entrance to a middle school in the countryside near Subashi, a “lost” city in the Taklamaken Desert near Kucha. He visited there during 2006. Drawings of the illegal activities were accompanied by text in both Chinese and Uyghur.

This text is my translation of an excerpt from the 473-page Chinese original, My West Land, Your East Country (Wǒ de xīyù, nǐ de dōng tǔ) by Wang Li-Xiong. Page 232. Published by Locus Publishing of Taiwan.