E/CN.4/1993/62 page 10 2. Pei Konggui, a Trappist monk of Hebei province, was reportedly arrested in Beijing on 3 September 1989 after administering the last rites in a Catholic’s home. 3. Liu Guangdong, Peter, Bishop of Yixian diocese in Hebei province, was allegedly arrested on 26 November 1989. 4. Li Side, Joseph, Bishop of Tianjin diocese, is reported to have been arrested at his home during the night between 8 and 9 December 1989. 5. Anthony Zhang, a parish priest, was reportedly arrested in Shaanxi province on 11 December 1989. 6. Matthias Lu Zhensheng, Bishop of Tianshui, Gansu province. 7. Barthélémy Yu Chengti, Bishop of Hanzhong, Shaanxi province. 8. Philipp Yang Libo, Bishop of Lanzhou, Gansu province. 9. Joseph Fan Xueyan, Bishop of Baoding. 10. Bishop Guo Wenzhi was reportedly arrested in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, on 14 December 1989. 11. Lieu Guangdong, Bishop of Yiuina, Hebei province, and Li Side, Bishop of Tianjin, have reportedly also been taken into custody. ..." "1. Respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief is the Chinese Government’s basic policy towards religion. Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution stipulates this clearly. The implications of this policy are that every citizen enjoys the freedom to believe in a religion and the freedom not to; within any given religion, he enjoys the freedom to believe in a particular denomination and the freedom not to; he enjoys the freedom not to have believed in the past but to do so now, and the freedom to have believed in the past but not to do so now. The essence of the policy is that whether to practise a religion is a matter which each citizen is free to decide and is his private business. The Chinese Government respects and protects citizens’ right to freedom of religion and the lawful rights and interests of normal religious movements and associations in accordance with the law. In China, religious and non-religious citizens are treated alike in political and legal matters, and all have the same rights and obligations. All religions are treated equally: there is no dominant religion. The Chinese Government is equally well disposed towards all of them. No one in China has been subjected to persecution for his religious beliefs. Article 147 of the Penal Code states that if a State employee unlawfully deprives a citizen of his normal freedom of religious belief or violates the customary practices of an ethnic minority and the case is grave, he shall be liable to up to two years’ imprisonment or forced labour.