Introduction...
Some aspects of this article, like freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and publication will be dealt with in
Freedom of association and assembly....
On September 29, 1949, a decree is made public in which all social organizations are called to register. The CCP wants to forbid the 'wrong' organizations and to reform the “good” ones in reliable partners of the new regime. Article 3 of the decree defines the organizations that are obliged to register:
1) The masses’ organizations;
2) Social welfare groups;
3) Literary and art working bodies;
4) Academic and learned associations;
5) Religious groups;
6) Other organizations that accord with the laws of the government. Article 4 states: "The founding of any reactionary organization, which impairs the interests of the state and the people, is prohibited; for those that have already registered but are found reactionary, their registration should be terminated and dismissed." Liu (2017) distinguishes between 6 organizations which are recognized.
"1. Mass organizations engaged in general social activities, such as the Trade Union, the Peasants’ Association, the Federation of Industry and Commerce, the Democratic Women’s Federation, the Democratic Youth Federation, the Students’ Federation, etc.
2. Public service organizations, such as the China Welfare Institute and the Red Cross Society of China.
3. Literary and art organizations engaged in literature, art, drama, and music, such as the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Drama Workers’ Association, the Art Workers’ Association, the Music Workers’ Association, etc.
4. Academic research organizations, such as the Natural Science Workers’ Association, the Social Science Workers’ Association, the Medical Association, etc.
5. Religious organizations, such as Christian and Buddhist organizations
6. Other social organizations that are recognized by law." In Shanghai, 40.000 organizations are registered. 36.000 are labor organizations and 89 are religious groups. Some organizations are not obliged to register according to article 2 of the regulation. These are the democratic parties or the people’s groups that have participated in the CPPCC; organizations that have been formulated by other regulations of the Central Government; organizations within administrative agencies, educational institutions, political entities, and military troops, which have obtained permission for their establishment from leading cadres.
During the war with Japan and during the Civil War, all opponents (the Japanese, GMD and CCP) tried to infiltrate the sects. In 1936, Mao published an "Appeal from the Central Soviet Government” to the “Brothers of the Elders’ Society", in which he praised its anti-Qing tradition and called on them to join the anti-Japanese front. "But the CCP’s embrace of secret societies was purely opportunistic; the ultimate goal was to coopt their leaders and make them useless by creating grassroots revolutionary associations which could better meet the needs of the people. CCP cadres did not hesitate to establish secret society shrines which were but fronts for Party cells" On 4 January 1949, the Peoples’ Government of North China banned secret societies Guo (2015) distinguishes two kind of religious groups, those who had allied with KMT in the Chinese Civil War (1946-49) and inflicted great losses on the CCP. The CCP’s suppressing campaign against these Sects in the early 1950s could be considered as a continuation of the Chinese Civil War. The others sects posed a political threat to the CCP because of its extensive organizational network and anti-communist ideology. The CCP uses several methods to eliminate the secret sects. One is based on delivering "…various kinds of social and economic services, from job placement, to labour insurance, to extensive government loan and credit facilities, it increasingly undermined the basis for the plethora of social organizations ... in the cities." The use of violence is also an efficient method to eliminate the sects.
Gao (2004) notices various difficulties. The crucial task was to educate the villagers to make a clear break with popular secret societies in the villages that had numerous connections with bandits. The secret societies are not immediately banned, but peasants are warned that GMD spies have penetrated these organizations or that they had close relations with Japanese occupiers and bandits were often local people who had relatives or friends in the villages. "In addition, many former independent organizations were simply absorbed by the state, the party, or mass organizations that effectively functioned as arms of the party. Others were merged into state-controlled institutions, such as universities."

1950 Yiguang Dao leaders arrested in Beijing
The sects also play an important role as opponents against the Land reform law and in 1953, a few societies become involved in resistance to the new program of grain procurement. (see
Most Chinese people are organized through their factory, school, administration, or army. In 1952 street committees are founded for those who are not organized through their job. These committees have to strengthen the ties between the central, local governments and the neighborhoods. They are responsible for the daily affairs, like providing marriage certificates, supervision on family planning, the distribution of food vouchers, and propaganda. In 1952, beside these neighborhood committees, also security defense groups are founded. The purpose of these committees in "…organs, factories, enterprises, schools, and streets shall generally be taken as units in cities, while in rural villages the administrative village shall be the unit…." (article 3) and "In order to rouse the masses and to assist the people’s government in preventing treason, espionage, theft, and arson, in liquidating counterrevolutionary activity, and in defending state and public security, it is specially prescribed that security defense committees be universally established throughout the country, in every city after development of the movement for the suppression of counterrevolution and in every rural village after completion of the land reform." In the discussion of
See
In the first years of the People's Republic of China, the regime is confronted with a great number of refugees as a result of the civil war. In the period between July 1949 and March 1950, the Shanghai administration sends back 350.000 men to their province of birth. "Just after the army arrived in Beijing, CCP surveyors tallied 8,000 beggars and petty thieves in the capital city. Within the first three months of Communist control, cadres claimed that by offering free train tickets and travel stipends, they mobilized roughly 3,000 nonnative Beijingers (and other willing migrants) to return or relocate to the countryside." The population increase in the cities is not only caused by the refugees but also by the influx of laborers for the industry and construction work. These newcomers arrive from the rural areas attracted by the higher earnings. The government measure of June 27, 1952, to provide free medical care for everyone working at the government and noncommercial organizations is an extra stimulus to migrate to the city. See
"The origins of the hukou system lie embedded in the baojia system of population registration and mutual surveillance perfected over millennia. But its antecedents also lie in 20th-century techniques of social control that were perfected in areas under Kuomintang and Japanese rule, and in the Communist-led revolutionary base areas. Equally important is the direct influence of the Soviet passbook system and the role of Soviet advisers in creating a social order that could be mobilized in the service of socialist developmental priorities." At the end of 1949, the Hukou system is introduced in cities like Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. The system is also introduced "...to provide a general statistical overview of the composition of subjects … based on education, profession, residence, and class for administrative and developmental purposes. …the new information to be collected included people's life stories, classes, economic conditions, social relations, and educational backgrounds. Researching the historical, social and, material conditions of a household, this approach made the investigation both “socialist” and more extensive than the simple and despised “counting” methods attributed to the previous regime." The handbook for CCP cadres (1949) describes the double function that involves the system. "On the one hand, [we] need to find out [hidden] enemies quickly, assist struggles against the enemy, and maintain the revolutionary order through the hukou management that controls the information on the population. On the other hand, [we] can provide data to the agencies of the state for their making policies and plans through hukou management that controls the population." On July 16, 1951, the Ministry of public security introduces the Hukou system throughout the country, to contain the ‘blind’ influx of persons from rural regions to the urban areas.
‘Blind’ influx means not controlled. Between 1949 and 1955 in Guangzhou, the total number of citizens has grown with 534,000 people, of whom 70 percent are ‘blind’ farmer migrants. "Between 1949 and 1957, it is reckoned the city (Shanghai) offloaded more than a million people, but 1,820,000 migrants came to the city in the same period, so that immigration accounted for about 34% of the city’s growth." "7.47% of all interprovincial migrants moved to Beijing during 1950-1954. During the same period, Shanghai received about 8.24% of China's interprovincial migrants. Together the three municipalities received almost 20% of China's interprovincial migrants in that period."

a. urban nonagricultural (urban workers);
b. urban agricultural (suburban peasants);
c. rural non-agricultural (workers in state or collective enterprises in rural areas);
d. rural agricultural (rural peasants). A special group are all cadres of the Party-state, no matter they came from the countryside or cities, or were sent to work in rural or urban areas, were considered to hold "urban status". Deng (2012) remarks "To reside in a city before the Communist take-over did not necessarily entitle a person to "urban status" after 1949. In other words, the urban population before the CCP‘s take-over did not equal "urban status population" latter."
Before 1949, it was possible to stay through temporary jobs in the city and to climb the social ladder and eventually permanently residing in the city and the opportunity to get an education for your children. A stringent and clear distinction between town and rural area occurs to the detriment of farmers. There are also some setbacks for citizens "Before 1949, urban professionals and administrators had multiple ties to the countryside. Rural rents funded urban careers, and profits from the city could be invested in rural land. Men living in the city returned to the countryside to marry, and children were sent to stay with rural grandparents. Country residence also provided an escape where politically or financially ruined members of the urban middle class could recuperate, regroup, or simply survive." After 1949, people are sent to the countryside as a punishment. The control is in the beginning certainly not waterproof and the editorial of the People’s Daily (RMRB) complains. "Rural surplus labour in a considerable number of areas has recently been found moving blindly towards the cities. 'Not only did these (rural) cadres not dissuade the peasants from blindly moving into the cities, but they adopted an irresponsible attitude of "out of sight, out of mind”." This illegal influx of migrants has also a positive side for the administration. "Once in town, farmers labored as outsiders, generally without most of the basic welfare rights enjoyed by average urban-citizens workers.51 …. For the simple fact that it is a way to provide cheap labor not have to deal with the concerns and expenses of providing welfare to the average peasant; a type of moneysaving technique."
Not only the farmers create a migrant problem, on June 29, 1950, the PLA starts a demobilization campaign. At the end of that year, about 17% of the soldiers are demobilized. The campaign is stopped during the Korean War, but after 1953 the demobilization campaign starts all over. Most of these veterans cannot find a job in the countryside (from where most of them were recruited) and migrate to the towns. "Rural officials were only too glad to be rid of them, so they “casually” issued them unauthorized “letters of introduction” to whatever urban destination they desired. If such letters could not be procured, veterans forged them (..)making sure to falsify their native place, party member status, or location of family members." In a new attempt to constrain the influx of farmers and veterans, the government takes some more measures. One of these is the requirement of an employment contract, but this requirement does not halt the influx and on March 12, 1954, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of labor announce a new decree: "If in the future additional workers are needed for urban construction, the district and township government will be officially directed to recruit rural labour in a planned and organized manner."That is, rural recruits would presumably return to the countryside at the conclusion of their employment." As the government wants to gain increased control over the economy, they also have a greater need to make more stringent rules "…the ability to allocate human resources not only at the enterprise and sectorial levels but also across geographic locations. Therefore, the Hukou system was considered to be a necessary component of the centrally planned economy." See on job opportunities
After the implementation of the state monopoly on purchasing and marketing of grain on October 10, 1953, (see
The government stimulates the migration to border areas. Especially the migration to the Northeast and Northwest is a planned operation. See also
The constitution of November7, 1931 lies the foundation of religious practice of the CCP. Article 13 guarantees "True religious freedom to the workers, peasants, and the toiling population. Adhering to the principle of the complete separation of church and state, the [Chinese] Soviet state neither favors nor grants any financial assistance to any religion whatsoever. All Soviet citizens shall enjoy the right to engage in anti-religious propaganda. No religious institution of the imperialists shall be allowed to exist unless it shall comply with Soviet law." The CCP has never made a precise definition of religion, the party considers religion as a negative social power clearly related to feudal and/or foreign imperialism. She differentiate "…into HuiMen (會門) and DaoMen (道門), HuiMen mainly included secret societies, and DaoMen contained secret religions, folk religions, popular religions etc.." The CCP categorizes the “HuiMen” as secret organizations and they are treated the same way as counterrevolutionary groups. See
"The religion of the overwhelming majority of Han Chinese was neither Buddhist, Daoist nor Confucian, but drew selectively on all three traditions and combined these with elements of local ritual and belief. Popular religion was par excellence local, rooted in networks of cults, festivals and ancestor worship based on the household, territorial communities, guilds and other associations. Diffuse in character, it lacked many of the features associated with the modern conception of religion, such as institutionalised structures, trained personnel and a coherent belief system. Partly for this reason, the struggle against religion in the PRC –in the absence of centralised institutions that characterised Russian Orthodoxy - was never as important a priority for the Chinese Communists as it was for their Russian comrades..."
Most Muslims live in the border areas and they belong to national minorities. Frequently, Beijing accuses them of ‘local national chauvinism’ (地方民族主义) which conflicts with the ‘national unity’ (民族团结) The government prohibits the construction of mosques and sometimes forces the local population to raise pigs. In Gansu and Henan, the Muslim inhabitants frequently revolt. For example, on April 2 and 4, 1952, there are uprisings in Guyuan (固原), Ningxia (宁夏), and Zhangjiachuan (张家川). The most famous rebel is

Osman Batur (Ospan Batyr 1899-1951)executed in Urumqi on April 29, 1951

Wen Xingsan (闻省三). (1906-) Invited to the founding ceremony of October 1, 1949

Ma Jian (马坚). (1906-1978) member of the first CPPCC. Translates 'On the People's Democratic Dictatorhip' in Arabic

Da Pusheng 达浦生 (1874-1965) Vice director CIA
In 1949, some Muslim leaders decide to leave the country. Among them were such important figures as imam

Ma Songting (马松亭) (1895-1992) Vice director CIA
Buddhism has a long history in China The monks live in temple complexes and they provide for their livelihood by begging and leasing of land. The CCP considers Buddhism as an exploiting feudal religion. The temples are considered as places where capitalist and GMD sympathizers conspire. The land reform of 1950 destroys the foundation for the economic structure of Buddhism and created an apparent vacuum in religious leadership and a shortage of physical space and revenue for religious practice. However, the CCP issued a directive on 16 June 1951, which "...warned that temples should not be occupied without the agreement of resident clergy; that no damage should be done to temples; and that historic relics should be preserved. If temples were confiscated, they should be ordinary temples without abbots (zhuchi)—these were the vast majority in fact—or be given up voluntarily by monks, or be in places where temples were numerous."


Published from 1950 to 1964
Mao Zedong writes in 1952 "Though no believer in Buddhism, I am not against forming an association of Buddhists to get them united and enable them to distinguish clearly between the people and the enemy." The situation in Tibet is more complex. Slobodnik (2007) notices: "In order to understand the status of religion in Tibet it is necessary to note that Tibetan Buddhism is considered to be the most important element in the identity of Tibetans by both Tibetan (...) and foreign authors(...). Any attempts to alter the traditional model of the status of religion, religious institutions and dignitaries in restrictions and limits imposed by the Chinese authorities on the religious practice on the individual and collective level are perceived by both the clergy and the laity as unacceptable infringements, which touch the core of “Tibetanness.”"
The agreement of the Central People's Government and the local government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful liberation of Tibet, which is signed on May 23, 1951 stipulates in article 7 "The policy of freedom of religious belief laid down in the Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will be protected. The Central Authorities will not effect any change in the income of the monasteries." (See
After the 2nd world war, Catholic and Protestant missions were confronted with the task of reestablishing themselves after the large-scale evacuation and imprisonment of the clergy and the damage of their properties by the Japanese invaders. During the civil war period (1945-1949), both religions suffered percussion. The advancing PLA troops killed foreign priests, looted or destroyed over 500 hundred mission stations, and 200 churches. Some 400 churches are confiscated and about 2000 mission schools are closed. From February 1948 onwards, the CCP changed its policy and repeated the statement of religious freedom and the protection of foreign missionaries, as long as they did not support the GMD. Under this constant pressure, several missionaries fled. "For the Christian church as a whole, leaving China would mean the abandonment of a century's efforts to bring Christianity to one quarter of the world's population; for many individual missionaries it would mean admitting the failure of a lifetime's work and dedication."
The division between the two religions is accentuated by nationality and language of the missionaries. The catholic clergy are mainly from France, Italy and Spain. The protestants are English speaking from GB, US and the Commonwealth. The catholic presence is all over the country, particularly in rural areas. Their basic aim is converting families or even entire villages. The education efforts were primarily focused on primary and secondary teaching. They ran a limited number of large hospitals but ran instead small dispensaries connected with the mission stations. They have also foundling homes and orphanages. Their financial funding relied mostly on local revenues (rural land and urban real estate). The protestant missions are concentrated in the urban areas. They gradually become less interested in conversion and more in social reform, education, and health. They ran large hospitals, secondary schools, and universities. Their financial funding is based on voluntary contribution from abroad. Protestantism
Like the Buddhist Ju Zan, the protestant leader

September 1949 Wu Yaozong (1893-1979) also known as Y.T. Wu speeches at the CPPCC
In July 1950 the ‘Christian Manifest’ is publicized. It states loyalty to the People's Republic of China and the foundation of the ‘Three Self Patriotic Movement’. This movement aims to change the institutional base of the Christian churches. The three principles are self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work). Zhou Enlai denies the accusations of coercion "Of course, if I had drafted the manifesto and brought it out for them to sign, they would have agreed to it. But what use would there have been in that, for everyone would have said that so-and-so had drafted the statement for them? It is better for them to speak about reform on their own. As long as they are close to our national policy and correct in their general orientation, there is no need to interfere." Hooper (1982) ascertains that the focus on social reform in the beginning of the 20th century backfired them. "...they found themselves temporarily linked with the forces of social reform intent on the modernization and transformation of Chinese society. Somewhat ironically, this Westernization and modernization movement included the development of Chinese nationalism and culminated in the mid-twenties in a violent reaction against the West" Roman Catholicism
The main objection the CCP has against the Roman Catholic Church is the influence of the Vatican. This loyalty conflict already occurs from the first contacts between the Roman Catholic missionaries and the Chinese emperors. The Chinese Roman Catholics are seen as

Anti-Catholic newspaper cartoon from the Jiefang ribao [Liberation Daily], October 13, 1951

Archbishop Riberi (1897-1967) is already expelled May 24, 1951
Taoism received the image of superstition and magic and as a protagonist of secret organizations. This is primarily because there is no single institutional framework for the rituals. Daoist ritual masters transmit their liturgical texts and practices to their sons and disciples in discrete, local lines of transmission. Hung (2000) remarks: "But to lump together peasants' religious beliefs as mere "superstitions," as government officials and reformers did, is a gross simplification of the peasants' enormously complicated mental and spiritual universe. The government attack against religious prints was essentially an assault against the peasants' traditions, as well as against their psychological bent and artistic imagination." The daily life practice in rural areas is based on Taoist traditions, but the rituals in the kinship relations are based on Confucianism. Not until 1957, Taoism is considered a religion. PLA General Zhu De was the great promoter for this decision.

Smith (2015b) concludes "the societies had been cross- class organizations with members ranging from the political and economic elites down to the most marginal and impoverished strata. The destruction of the old ruling classes, however, meant that the societies lost the merchants, gentry, and officials who had once been their wealthy patrons." Smith (2015b). Page 354.
In 1949 Yiguan Dao has almost 180 thousand members In Beijing, 140 thousand in Tianjin and in Shaanxi 187 thousand. "An estimated 1,100 officers in the Beijing Bureau of Public Security were members, and local party cadres and members of the Communist Youth League were also found to have joined. In one Beijing district, 23 percent of all the police officers were members of the sect." Walder (2015). Page 67
The CCP created an exhibition condemning Yiguandao in Beijing in 1951, and in 1952 the party released a film with the sarcastic title, The Way of Persistently Harming People (Yiguan hairen dao 一贯害人道). On December 20, 1950 the RMRB wrote an editorial "Ban the Yiguan Sect Resolutely "
"The millions of refugees still loitering in the cities also demanded immediate attention. Within two weeks of Tianjin’s surrender in mid-January 1949, the CCP sent 20,000 people back to their villages throughout north China and in Manchuria.5 In Beijing, the next major urban center to fall on January 31, the authorities also began a rapid repatriation campaign, offering free passage to those willing to leave. About 5,000 people remained in the former Nationalist refugee shelters, the most obvious candidates for immediate removal in the effort dubbed “reducing the parasitic population” (jianshao jisheng renkou). But when cadres identified an additional 160,000 people and prepared for large-scale dispersal, protests forced them to abandon those plans.6 Instead, the new government concentrated its efforts on demobilized GMD soldiers lurking about the city. Public notices announced that former enemy combatants and their dependents who registered and turned in their weapons by the February 25 deadline would be rewarded for their cooperation; those who failed to do so would be treated as “illegal” belligerents.7 ...For the new PRC regime, confronting unknown numbers of possibly armed and hostile enemy soldiers was a key issue on the security agenda." Chen (2012). Page 214
"To a great extent, the CCP directly copied and inherited much of the ROC hukou laws and policies on hukou registration and verification procedures. The early version of the CCP's hukou regulations (before the mid-1950s) also similarly provided for the citizen's right of free internal migration. Before the establishment of the PRC, the CCP established its own hukou-like mass mobilization and organization system as early as the 1930s, in its guerrilla bases in Jiangxi Province and later in northern Shangxi Province. 52" Wang (2005). Page 43
"…for security, employment, and rationing reasons. They issued “resident’s cards”. These were not given to each person but to each head-of-household. The document had to be shown when any member of the household applied for a regular job or made purchases at a state grain shop. In later years, when ration tickets were required to buy certain goods, the card was used to verify the identity of the buyer. The head of each household could obtain tickets only at a special office.2" White (1978). Page 149

Schoenhals (2012) remarks: "In the early 1950s, when the situation in many parts of China still remained chaotic and the new authorities struggled to maintain basic law and order, some establishments did a brisk trade in the fabrication of false official seals and bogus identity papers.45" Schoenhals (2012). Page 61

Laliberte (2015) notices "Li Weihan 李维汉, former director of the Party Central Party School in the 1930s, and which have re-emerged as the basis of the CCP thinking on religious affairs.65 The ‘five characteristics’ of religion are specific to China and this justifies, in the eyes of its cadres, why the CCP religious work cannot be a mechanistic transplant of the USSR policy. For the proponents of this approach, religion is: long-term (changqi 长期), collective (qunzong 群众), ethnic (minzu 民族), international (guoji 国际) and complex (fuza 复 杂). 66 Because religion is a long-term phenomenon, the party must work to ensure its compatibility with socialism. The collective nature of religion suggests that this is not only a matter of individual belief, but also a social reality that requires political and legal management. The ethnic dimension of religion calls for the party to respect the religious beliefs of ethnic minority if it wants to succeed in its policy of maintaining national unity. Because religions are international, the party must be vigilant to ensure that they uphold the principles of independence, autonomy, and self-governance. Finally, because religion has a complex nature, the party’s UFWD must improve its understanding of religious diversity." Laliberté (2015). Page 10
"Having undermined the power of many Sunni and Shiite clerics through land reform, .., many Muslims in Xinjiang turned towards Sufism. Different from Sunni and Shia Islam, Sufism deemphasizes the importance of Mosques and land and instead focuses on the importance of Muslim fellowship.94 As such, under Sufism Muslims can meet practically anywhere to discuss their faith and listen to religious teachings. Therefore, by practicing Sufism the Uyghurs were able to maintain their Islamic faith despite attempts by the Chinese state to undermine it." Betz (2008). Page 34.

"During the 1950s Buddhism was used for the state’s foreign diplomacy toward Buddhist countries (for example, Japan, Sri Lanka) and large public temples were maintained through state subsidies as showcases of religion under socialism to impress foreign visitors. But the innumerable secondary temples in locales ceased operating while many were taken over and used by local governments." Wank (2009). Page 148 Note 12
"... missionaries who stayed in Red China did so for a variety of reasons: commitment to their task, indifference to political change, curiosity, loyalty to their Chinese colleagues, desire to render service as long as possible, hope that somehow the Communists would modify their attitude toward religion and Western "imperialism" when they came to responsibility and power." Lacy (1955). Page 301.
Horlemann (2009) "First half 1949: Some SVD (Societas Verbi Divini) missionaries left Gansu and Qinghai, others did not succeed due to the lack of plane tickets" Page 74