Compass Direct: On March 1, China adopted the new Regulations on Religious Affairs, first announced by the government in December 2004. The government claims the new regulations are a step towards religious freedom. However, some Christian leaders have expressed serious concerns, particularly with the issue of church registration.
Last year, the government carried out a survey of unregistered house churches using members of the Protestant Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) churches who had contact with unregistered Christians. Results showed there were several thousand unregistered meeting points in Beijing, with over 100,000 members -- far outnumbering the 30,000 Protestants registered with the TSPM.
In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, it is clearly in the government's interests to stabilize the situation by encouraging these house churches to register.
