HONG KONG (UCAN): A rushed and hidden burial for the bishop of Urumqi in China’s volatile Xinjiang province and an expansive public ceremony for the bishop of Taiyuan in Shanxi province tell the story of two unequal funerals carried out during August that reflect the difference in attitude of the state authorities towards the official and unofficial Church communities.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): At least 12 Uyghur students in Egypt were arrested and deported back to China last month in a demonstration of how far-reaching China’s arm is when it comes to keeping a grip on the beleaguered Muslim minority.
 
Since July, it has been reported that 150 Uyghur students in Egypt were rounded up and told there were some irregularities with their residency papers.
 

URUMQI (SE): The use of the Uyghur language in schools in the Xinjiang region of China has been banned by the government and an official announcement says that those violating the order will face severe punishment.
 
The ban is being seen as one of the strongest repressive measures yet imposed by Beijing to try and assimilate ethnic Muslim Uyghurs.
 

HONG KONG (SE): After several reports appeared recently pointing to hiccups in the current round of talks taking place between the Holy See and Beijing, the Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, admitted in his diplomatic way that things are rocky, saying that new challenges had been presented.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): An official government function to mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association carried a bit of a mixed message for the Church and the Vatican, on the one hand stressing Beijing will keep a tight rein on the Church, but on the other refraining from calling the event a celebration.
 

VATICAN (UCAN): While the ongoing talks between the Holy See and Beijing have been described by commentators as hitting a rocky patch, the Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, said on August 2 that discussion over the appointment of bishops has presented new challenges.
 

BEIJING (SE): A series of articles published in the Global Times during July is reiterating the perpetual warning to members of the Communist Party that religious belief is blacklisted, as it poses a danger to the purity of Marxist atheism and can derail party direction and functionality.
 
“Party members should not have religious beliefs, but follow atheist Marxism; otherwise, they will be punished,” Wang Zuo’an, the director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, was quoted as saying by the Global Times.

HONG KONG (UCAN): The former cathedral of Xiamen diocese on Gulangyu Island in eastern Fujian province was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List by the 41st session of the committee held in Krakow, Poland, on July 8.
 
The decision to recognise Christ the King Church as one of the 51 notable sites on the island comes in the centenary year of the building which was commissioned by the Spanish Dominican Bishop Emmanuel Prat in 1917.