John Wang
(ZENIT News – China Christian Daily / Jiangsu, 04.14.2023).- The Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission of Jiangsu Province issued a notice on March 14th that the Implementation Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services in Jiangsu Province (Trial) have been reviewed and approved and are hereby promulgated, which shall come into force as of May 1st, 2023.
The Implementation Measures consist of five chapters and 36 articles.
The Measures stipulate that applicants should be equipped with religious information auditors (hereinafter referred to as “auditors”). The auditors should be mainland residents with People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationality, be familiar with religious policies and regulations and related religious knowledge, pass the training organized by the provincial religious affairs department, have the cultural literacy, working ability, and physical condition to undertake the audit task, and not concurrently serve as auditors of other legal person organizations or unincorporated organizations.
The license for Internet Religious Information Service in Jiangsu Province (hereinafter referred to as “the license”) is valid for three years.
Article 10 stipulates, “When applying for the addition of Internet religious information dissemination platform services, applicants shall also submit the management rules and regulations for platform registered users, template user agreements, complaint reporting mechanisms, etc.”
Article 18 states, “The full text, abstract, or news draft of religious information reproduced and forwarded by licensed legal person organizations or unincorporated organizations shall be reproduced and forwarded from approved legal websites and platforms, and the source and time of reprinting and forwarding shall be accurately indicated.”
Article 21 adds that no organization or individual may raise money in the name of religion on the Internet, set up online donation boxes, offering boxes, or Niyyah boxes, raise funds for the construction, renovation, and maintenance of religious places, or provide paid religious services.
Article 26 says that the provincial religious affairs departments should carry out auditor training at least once a year, which includes the party’s religious work principles and policies, relevant national laws, regulations, and rules, and religious knowledge.
Article 27 states, “Religious affairs departments at all levels should expand the channels for accepting complaints and reports, make public the ways of accepting complaints and reports, and lawfully disposed of them in a timely manner”.
