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The China Project
Project group: Egil Lothe - The Council of Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway and President of the Norwegian Buddhist Association, Koen Wellens - Norwegian Centre for Human Rights China Programme, Hanna Havnevik; (University of Oslo IKOS and \director of Network for Tibet) og Knut Espen Arnesen (University of Oslo Faculty of Theology)
For several years now the Oslo Coalition has been working together with the People's Republic of China on freedom of religion and belief. In 2006 a delegation was present at the World Buddhist Forum in Shanghai, and continued with its network building activities in that context. In December 2006 the OC arranged the conference "Law and religion in Transitional Societies" in cooperation with, among others, the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences, the Pu Shi Institute for Social Science, and the Institute for World Religions.
In 2008:
- The book “Freedom of Religion in China: Norwegian Experiences from the Human Rights Dialogue” (see 2007 below) by Koen Wellens, China expert at the Center for Human Rights, will be completed. The book will consist of 8 chapters, 4 of which are already written.
- The Third International Conference on Religion and Law
Background: In October of 2004, the Oslo Coalition participated in the first conference held in the People’s Republic of China expressly on the theme of religion and the state. The conference was very successful and provided significant opportunities for dialogue with leading experts and government officials in China responsible for these issues. In December 2006, the Oslo Coalition hosted a follow-up conference on “Law and Religion in Transitional Societies: Comparative Approaches to the Rule of Law.” For the programme, click here - Two representatives from Oslo Coalition working group on China will carry out a 2 day delegational tour to Mongolia, in connection with the conference above.
In 2007:
The Oslocoalition project group for China,wishing to consolidate the information collected on these trips, and in cooperation with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights China program, decided to write a report on the status of religious minorities in China. The report turned into a book of which four chapters were rewritten in 2007. This together with the translation of selected extracts from the Oslo Coalition deskbook for Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief much needed background material for a development of freedom of religion in China.
Please note: some of the links below link to our old website. If you should open an older document, please use the arrows on your browser to come back to this website.
Earlier reports:
- The conference "Law and religion in Transitional Societies", Oslo December 2006 (pdf)
- The conference "The First World Buddhist Forum", Hangzhou, Zhousan and Shanghai, April 2006 (pdf)
- The Beijing conference: “Comparative Approaches to Regulating Religion and Belief: State Authority and the Rule of Law”, October 2004 (doc). For the programme and list of lecturers, click here (pdf)
- The Oslo Coalition delegational visit to China, June-July 2004 (doc)
- The Oslo Coalition delegational visit to China, November 2002
- The Oslo Coalition delegational visit to China in 2000
