After completing his sentence, Cao is no longer behind bars. But he is facing another major obstacle. He is without any legal documentation in his country, unable to access even the most basic services.

He said that police who came to his mother's house in 2006 took away her "hukou" registration book, which had also included Cao.

Every child born in China is registered in the hukou, which is an identification system through which social benefits are allocated by geography. Later in life, the hukou is needed to apply for a national ID card, which is used in everything from getting a phone number to public health insurance.

Cao became a Christian in his 20s through an American family he met in China. Read more

Approval from the provincial religious department is needed for anyone wanting to attend services in churches, mosques or Buddhist temples, ChinaAid reports.

Worshippers make their online reservations and appointments through a "Smart Religion" app and select the venue where they wish to attend.

To make an application, applicants must fill in personal information: name, phone number, ID number, permanent residence, occupation and date of birth.

The app, developed by the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission of Henan Province, does not allow religious keywords such as temple, mosque, Christianity and Catholicism.

Henan is China's third most populous province, with one of the country's largest Christian populations. About seven million of the province's more than 98 million people are Christians, according to official data.

The majority of the Christians are Protestants belonging to various house churches based in rural parts of the province.

While there is concern elderly people may not be able to use the app to make reservations, officials say staff will help them.

ChinaAid says the number of Christians attending services in the churches has dropped since permission has been required.

Two Christians who asked not to be named said during a Sunday service they were told not to take photos, videos or write about the service on their cyberspace.

Participants still sat at a distance, and men were separated from women, they said.

Media reports say the "Smart Religion" online app was first launched last August. That was a month after China's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs held a symposium on the construction of a religious "big data" management platform in Henan. The app has since been rolled out across the province.

The idea is believed to be a brainchild of the State Administration of Religious Affairs - the Chinese Communist Party body that oversees China's religious affairs.

Rights groups say such measures are part of the Chinese regime's system of monitoring and control of religions and religious affairs. China's authorities say it intends to protect the rights of religious people.

The communist authorities aim to strictly manage religions in a comprehensive way to make the followers of religions follow and implement the party's ideologies and political purposes, ChinaAid reported.

China is officially an atheist state. However, it recognises the legal entity of five organised religions - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism.

The government runs several bodies to regulate the affairs of legally recognised religions. All clergy and religious entities are required to register with the government and follow strict policies or face criminal charges and stringent punishments.

Global Christian rights group Open Doors ranked China 16th among 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Source

• UCA News

One human rights lawyer described the measures as "one more weapon in (the Chinese authorities') arsenal to limit or further persecute the religious communities."

The new regulations include specific requirements on the qualifications of religious staff, detailed in the regulations' Chapter III.

Article 15 states that Tibetan Buddhism's succession of living Buddhas should be regulated in accordance with the Regulations on Religious Affairs and the Tibetan Buddhism Reincarnation Management Measures, which require government approval.

Article 16 states that Catholic bishops must be approved and ordained by the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Bishops' Conference.

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