Document #1037072
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on the above-mentioned topic
could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
However, please find attached information on the location of Tian
Dao (Way of Heaven or Secret Light sect, also known as Tian Tao,
Tien Dao, Tien Tao, or Tintao) temples and whether there have been
arrests or persecution of Tian Dao adherents in Fujian.
Six Tiantao priests from Taiwan were
detained by police in Quanzhou, Fujian in 1994 for proselytizing
and setting up altars in the cities of Quanzhou, Fuqiao, Nanan, and
Zhangzhou, all in the province of Fujian (Ming Pao 30 Apr.
1994). UPI reported that twelve temporary temples in Fujian
operated by Yi Guan Dao (Way of Unity, Way of Celestial Light) sect
members were torn down in 1993 (1 Sept. 1993). Also attached is a 6
June 1996 Far Eastern Economic Review article that
provides general information on the Way of Unity sect and reports
about a resident from Chang Le City visiting a temple near the
Fuzhou airport.
For additional information on Tian Dao
(various spellings), please consult Responses to Information
Requests CHN23894.E of 18 June 1996, CHN19618.E of 16 February
1995, CHN17851.E of 22 July 1994, and CHN13699 of 5 April 1993.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Ming Pao [Hong Kong, in
Chinese]. 30 April 1994. "Six Taiwan 'Secret Light Sect' Priests
Being Interrogated in Fujian." (BBC Summary 21 May 1994/NEXIS)
United Press International (UPI). 1
September 1993. "China Expells Buddhist Priests." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Far Eastern Economic Review
[Hong Kong]. 6 June 1996. Vol. 159, No. 23. Matt Forney. "God's
Country,' pp. 46-50.
Ming Pao [Hong Kong, in
Chinese]. 30 April 1994. "Six Taiwan 'Secret Light Sect' Priests
Being Interrogated in Fujian." (BBC Summary 21 May 1994/NEXIS)
United Press International (UPI). 1
September 1993. "China Expells Buddhist Priests." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
People's Republic of China: Religious Repression in China.
Asiaweek [Hong Kong]. Weekly.
Jan. -Apr. 1997.
China Focus [Princeton, NJ].
Monthly. Jan. 1996-Apr. 1997.
The China Journal [Canberra].
Biannual. July 1995-Jan. 1997.
China Rights Forum [New York].
Quarterly. Spring 1995-Winter 1996.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS). Daily. 1994-1997. [Internet Version]
Human Rights Watch/Asia. Dec. 1995.
China: Religious Persecution Persists.
_____. 1994. Detained in China and
Tibet: A Directory of Political and Religious Prisoners.
Two oral sources consulted did not
provide information on the requested subject.
On-line search of media sources.