A/51/542 English Page 28 State protects normal religious activities and prohibits any action which, masquerading as religion, disturbs public order, endangers the health of citizens or interferes with the functioning of the national education system. Persons who commit crimes under cover of religion are subject to investigation and indictment in accordance with the law. 3. Alleged arrests or detention of members of religious orders and believers belonging to unofficial religious organizations. China is a State governed by the rule of law. Chinese law protects freedom of religion and no one may be arrested or detained for his religious beliefs. Believers and non-believers are equal before the law. In the punishment of criminals, Chinese courts act according to the law, whether the persons concerned are believers or not and whether or not they practise a religion of any kind. Believers, including clergy, are punished if they carry on illegal activities that have nothing to do with religion or if they commit crimes under cover of religion. In present-day society, there is no country whose law blindly protects citizens who carry on criminal activities simply on the pretext of practising their religion. 4. Banning religious figures who have served sentences for "counterrevolutionary activities" from entering places of worship. The Chinese Government imposes no restrictions that would have the effect of preventing religious figures from entering places of worship, and it has never prohibited convicts who have served their sentence from entering places of worship. However, some religious organizations, out of concern for their prestige and their reputation, decide that anyone who has been convicted of breaking the law automatically loses his religious status and that the competent religious bodies must review and attest to the fact that he has been rehabilitated after having served his sentence. As regards the quality of religious education, all religious organizations attach importance to the teaching of religion and to raising the educational level of their followers. All educational institutions with religious affiliations determine the duration of their students’ religious studies. This varies from a period of two to three years to a period of four to six years. Short-term training courses are also offered. 5. Posting, publication and distribution of texts on freedom of religion. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the publicity that must be given to laws, regulations and policies concerning freedom of religion. For instance, the People’s Daily, the most widely read daily newspaper in the country, published in extenso the two administrative regulations adopted by the State Council in 1994. The Council’s Office of Religious Affairs also published 70,000 copies of the two texts. In collaboration with the review Legal System, the Office also writes a specialized column in the People’s Daily and in one year published more than 50 essays familiarizing readers with the regulations and discussing their implementation. The Policies and Regulations Department of the Office of Religious Affairs of the State Council has, with the help of the ministerial services concerned, compiled and published a selection of documents on religion, comprising texts published in earlier years. Throughout the country, local authorities also distribute the texts of laws and policies and publicize legal provisions. The Government intends to continue such activities in order to increase familiarity with the laws and policies in force concerning freedom of religion. -----