E/CN.4/1993/62 page 8 3. Xu Guoxing, aged 36, Protestant preacher from Shanghai, reportedly arrested on 6 November 1989 for having ’seriously interfered and damaged the regular order of religious activities’. The Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau sentenced him to three years of re-education through labour on 1 November 1989. His sentence is to run from 6 November 1989 to 5 November 1992. 4. Liu Qinglin, aged 59, Protestant evangelist from Moguqi, reportedly arrested in July 1989 and sentenced to three years of re-education through labour because he carried out religious activities without official approval." 19. On 9 January 1992 the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China transmitted the following information to the Special Rapporteur with regard to the above-mentioned allegation (E/CN.4/1992/52, para. 22): "(a) Concerning China’s religious policy: The basic policy of the Chinese Government towards religion is to respect and protect the freedom of religious belief. This is as prescribed in Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. The implicit meaning of this policy is this: every citizen has the freedom to believe, or not to believe, in a religion; the freedom to believe in such or in another religion; or within the same religion, the freedom to believe in such or in another sect; and, finally, the freedom not to believe in the past but to believe at present, as well as the freedom to believe in the past but not to believe at present. The substance of this policy is to make the question of the religious belief into one of freedom of choice, in other words, to make it the private business of each citizen. The Chinese Government undertakes to respect and protect, under law, the right to freedom of religious belief and the legitimate concerns of normal religious activities and organizations. Whether or not they are religious, all citizens of China enjoy the same rights and carry the same duties. All religions in China have the same status, there being no dominant religion in the country. The Chinese Government treats all religions equally. No one in China is persecuted for his or her religious belief. According to Article 147 of China’s Penal Code, any official who abuses the normal freedom of religious belief of a citizen or who violates the customs and traditions of an ethnic minority, depending on the seriousness of the offence, may face up to two years of imprisonment or penal servitude. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China further stipulates: ’No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the State. Religious bodies or religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.’ This has in mind that a few persons have used religion to swindle, seduce, endanger health, disrupt normal public order and even engage in subversion, for which they have received criminal or administrative penalty. For such is no longer a question of religion or religious belief. Anyone found violating the law shall be judged according to law.