ABSTRACT
All the constitutions of the People's Republic of China contain in their sections on fundamental rights and duties of citizens articles that promise freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration, as well as religion. The attitude of the Communist Party in China seems to be that religious practices are better controlled when they are conducted openly and in organized groups with leaders who can be called to account. A special case is the persecution in Tibet, where church and state were one and where a Buddhist incarnation, the Dalai Lama, was the head of both. If the Chinese Communist Party leadership truly seeks modernization, it must have in its employ larger and larger numbers of educated people who can think for themselves. This unavoidable development and the role these persons play will be decisive in the conflict between control and freedom of the mind.
