Religious persecution in China part 3/3
10th April: the Light Valley Church in Wuhan, Hubei was accused for holding illegal religious events by the religious affairs office in Hung Shan District. The officer then notified the landlord of the church area and requested to stop letting the place to the church. The Light Valley Church replied, “finally, it is our turn.” On 21st April the day for Easters celebration, they held their final ritual. There were 10 new members joining the church conference.
15th April: a family church in Zhejiang was forced to be demolished. According to some news, the related officials requested the church to join “Three-self patriotic movement” and only by doing so, the church could stay. “Three-self patriotic movement” refers to Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, it refers to the Chinese Christian Church, which is politically obeyed the political leadership of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, and should be free from management and intervention from foreign churches, "autonomy, self-maintenance and self-preach."
As reported by the Christian Times, churches and crosses in Shandong, Hubei and inner Mongolia had been demolished. In the early morning on 12th April, a Catholic church located in Xianto, Hubei was dismantled; On 16th April, the cross of a Catholic praying place located in Xinzhou, Hubei was taken down; On the day of Easter 21st April, the cross of a Christian church in Shandong was taken down as well.
According to the Ucan News, on 14th Arpil, after Father Jiang finished holing a mass, he was stopped and taken away by some plainclothes government officials. There have been 2 other clergies being arrested by the government in late March.
A presbyter in Henan reported on 11th April that local government was recruiting 1 person from each village to monitor the church and report to the government if there were any children entering churches. Each person gets paid 300 RMB monthly. The local farmers who are in poverty could receive 60 RMB monthly subsidy per person.
After the execution of the amended Regulations on Religious Affairs in February, 2018, news about family churches in China being demolished has been reported continuously. The government prohibits children under the age of 18 and party members from participating church gatherings. Many believers and followers of various religious sects and churches had started petitions to support the mainland churches last year.
https://www.hkcnews.com/article/20053/時代論壇-中國教會遭打壓-20053/《時代論壇》：復活節前後-中國拆教堂拆十字架
#ReligionFreedom
#sinicization
#churches
10th April: the Light Valley Church in Wuhan, Hubei was accused for holding illegal religious events by the religious affairs office in Hung Shan District. The officer then notified the landlord of the church area and requested to stop letting the place to the church. The Light Valley Church replied, “finally, it is our turn.” On 21st April the day for Easters celebration, they held their final ritual. There were 10 new members joining the church conference.
15th April: a family church in Zhejiang was forced to be demolished. According to some news, the related officials requested the church to join “Three-self patriotic movement” and only by doing so, the church could stay. “Three-self patriotic movement” refers to Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, it refers to the Chinese Christian Church, which is politically obeyed the political leadership of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, and should be free from management and intervention from foreign churches, "autonomy, self-maintenance and self-preach."
As reported by the Christian Times, churches and crosses in Shandong, Hubei and inner Mongolia had been demolished. In the early morning on 12th April, a Catholic church located in Xianto, Hubei was dismantled; On 16th April, the cross of a Catholic praying place located in Xinzhou, Hubei was taken down; On the day of Easter 21st April, the cross of a Christian church in Shandong was taken down as well.
According to the Ucan News, on 14th Arpil, after Father Jiang finished holing a mass, he was stopped and taken away by some plainclothes government officials. There have been 2 other clergies being arrested by the government in late March.
A presbyter in Henan reported on 11th April that local government was recruiting 1 person from each village to monitor the church and report to the government if there were any children entering churches. Each person gets paid 300 RMB monthly. The local farmers who are in poverty could receive 60 RMB monthly subsidy per person.
After the execution of the amended Regulations on Religious Affairs in February, 2018, news about family churches in China being demolished has been reported continuously. The government prohibits children under the age of 18 and party members from participating church gatherings. Many believers and followers of various religious sects and churches had started petitions to support the mainland churches last year.
https://www.hkcnews.com/article/20053/時代論壇-中國教會遭打壓-20053/《時代論壇》：復活節前後-中國拆教堂拆十字架
#ReligionFreedom
#sinicization
#churches
眾新聞
《時代論壇》：復活節前後 中國拆教堂拆十字架
《時代論壇》報道，過去兩星期，再有中國教會傳出被拆教堂、十字架、家庭教會聚會遭到暫停、教會被監視，以及神職人員被帶走的消息。
#ReligionSupression #Autocracy #Xi
Further Tightening Grip on #Churches in China (1 of 3)
China has expanded its persecution of religion in recent years, and now even foreign missionaries have been arrested and repatriated. Foreign media have revealed that under Chinese President Xi Jinping's policy of cracking down on foreign-related religions, believers are not only not allowed to contact foreign religions, but also are not allowed to watch foreign television programmes.
Bitter Winter, a magazine which has long been covering human rights issues in China, reported that authorities had issued a nationwide "anti-foreign religious order", calling on local governments to cooperate in the fight against foreign-related religions, with South Korean Christian churches being the most persecuted. It was reported that some foreign missionaries were arrested when entering China, and were forced to provide the point of contact in China under repeated interrogations, after that they were eventually repatriated. As for the foreign missionaries' contact persons in China, they were attested soon after; locals were forced to sign statement of confession, while foreigners were repatriated and blacklisted.
Bitter Winter also disclosed a confidential document titled “The Work Programme of special operations for the investigation and punishment of infiltration from Christian abroad”, issued this year by the Central Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Public Security of China; the document revealed that Xi regarded missionary acts of foreign-related religions as "infiltration", and ordered that "foreign religious forces should never be allowed to form a system within Chinese territory", "the formation of forces against the Party and the government in the field of religion must not be allowed."
In addition, satellite dishes (commonly known as "pot lids") in China that receive foregin channel antenna TV signal had also been forcibly dismantled, to prevent people from watching overseas religious programmes. A fine of 5,000 Yuan (USD 740) will be penalized if the household / facility refused to comply.
Source: The Liberty Times (05-10-2019)
https://m.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2937145
Further Tightening Grip on #Churches in China (1 of 3)
China has expanded its persecution of religion in recent years, and now even foreign missionaries have been arrested and repatriated. Foreign media have revealed that under Chinese President Xi Jinping's policy of cracking down on foreign-related religions, believers are not only not allowed to contact foreign religions, but also are not allowed to watch foreign television programmes.
Bitter Winter, a magazine which has long been covering human rights issues in China, reported that authorities had issued a nationwide "anti-foreign religious order", calling on local governments to cooperate in the fight against foreign-related religions, with South Korean Christian churches being the most persecuted. It was reported that some foreign missionaries were arrested when entering China, and were forced to provide the point of contact in China under repeated interrogations, after that they were eventually repatriated. As for the foreign missionaries' contact persons in China, they were attested soon after; locals were forced to sign statement of confession, while foreigners were repatriated and blacklisted.
Bitter Winter also disclosed a confidential document titled “The Work Programme of special operations for the investigation and punishment of infiltration from Christian abroad”, issued this year by the Central Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Public Security of China; the document revealed that Xi regarded missionary acts of foreign-related religions as "infiltration", and ordered that "foreign religious forces should never be allowed to form a system within Chinese territory", "the formation of forces against the Party and the government in the field of religion must not be allowed."
In addition, satellite dishes (commonly known as "pot lids") in China that receive foregin channel antenna TV signal had also been forcibly dismantled, to prevent people from watching overseas religious programmes. A fine of 5,000 Yuan (USD 740) will be penalized if the household / facility refused to comply.
Source: The Liberty Times (05-10-2019)
https://m.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2937145
#ReligionSupression #Autocracy #Xi
Further Tightening grip on #Churches in China (2 of 3)
The Communist Party of China (CCP) continues to persecute Christians foreigners under the pretext of “resisting foreign religious infiltration.”
Ever since the adoption of the Plan for the Special Campaign on Legal Investigation and Prosecution of South Korean Christian Infiltrations last year, Christian churches affiliated with South Korea have come under harsh suppression.
When a South Korean pastor was training house church preachers at a hotel in Zibo city, Shandong Province in April 2019, he was arrested by over ten officials. The police later told him it was illegal for foreigners to preach in China and only China’s nationals with pastoral certificates issued by the Chinese government are allowed to do so. The pastor was fined and deported back to South Korea.
Multiple Korean churches have to run “underground” and the South Korean Missionary was extremely cautious when holding gathering. They must disguise the religious intention for gathering and use different locations for security reasons.
If the preachers were arrested, they will be interrogated about the origins of Korean missionary, forced to sign “statement of guarantee” to cease participation in foreign-related religious activities as preventative measure against “foreign spies infiltrating China, endangering national security, and leaking state secrets.
Source: BitterWinter 18-07-2019
https://bitterwinter.org/south-korean-missionaries-risk-deportation-from-china/
Further Tightening grip on #Churches in China (2 of 3)
The Communist Party of China (CCP) continues to persecute Christians foreigners under the pretext of “resisting foreign religious infiltration.”
Ever since the adoption of the Plan for the Special Campaign on Legal Investigation and Prosecution of South Korean Christian Infiltrations last year, Christian churches affiliated with South Korea have come under harsh suppression.
When a South Korean pastor was training house church preachers at a hotel in Zibo city, Shandong Province in April 2019, he was arrested by over ten officials. The police later told him it was illegal for foreigners to preach in China and only China’s nationals with pastoral certificates issued by the Chinese government are allowed to do so. The pastor was fined and deported back to South Korea.
Multiple Korean churches have to run “underground” and the South Korean Missionary was extremely cautious when holding gathering. They must disguise the religious intention for gathering and use different locations for security reasons.
If the preachers were arrested, they will be interrogated about the origins of Korean missionary, forced to sign “statement of guarantee” to cease participation in foreign-related religious activities as preventative measure against “foreign spies infiltrating China, endangering national security, and leaking state secrets.
Source: BitterWinter 18-07-2019
https://bitterwinter.org/south-korean-missionaries-risk-deportation-from-china/
#ReligionSupression #Autocracy
Further Tightening grip on #Churches in China (3 of 3)
China targets Christian Weddings and Funerals
Authorities have broken up Christian funerals and weddings in Henan province earlier this year, said Bitter Winter (link here: https://bitterwinter.org/authorities-restrict-christian-funerals-and-wedding-events/). The wedding received an anonymous complaint and the police stormed into the wedding venue, seized the Bibles and threatened against such events in the future.
The State Department of US reported that the Chinese government requires Christian churches to install surveillance cameras so that the police can monitor activities and compels Christians to sign documents renouncing their Christian faith, according to the 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo described China’s actions as “heinous.”
China also wants informers. Sources from South China Morning Post reported that Guangzhou city officials offer $1,500 USD cash rewards for information on religious gatherings.
Source: ShareAmerica (15-10-2019)
https://share.america.gov/china-targets-christian-weddings-and-funerals/
Further Tightening grip on #Churches in China (3 of 3)
China targets Christian Weddings and Funerals
Authorities have broken up Christian funerals and weddings in Henan province earlier this year, said Bitter Winter (link here: https://bitterwinter.org/authorities-restrict-christian-funerals-and-wedding-events/). The wedding received an anonymous complaint and the police stormed into the wedding venue, seized the Bibles and threatened against such events in the future.
The State Department of US reported that the Chinese government requires Christian churches to install surveillance cameras so that the police can monitor activities and compels Christians to sign documents renouncing their Christian faith, according to the 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo described China’s actions as “heinous.”
China also wants informers. Sources from South China Morning Post reported that Guangzhou city officials offer $1,500 USD cash rewards for information on religious gatherings.
Source: ShareAmerica (15-10-2019)
https://share.america.gov/china-targets-christian-weddings-and-funerals/
600 UK churches sign up to welcome Christian arrivals from Hong Kong
The Church of England must not repeat its lack of welcome to the Windrush generation when thousands of Hong Kong Chinese people move to the UK in what could be the largest planned migration for decades, say clergy of Chinese heritage.
Many of those who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s were discouraged from attending or even turned away from Anglican churches. Last year, Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, spoke of his shame at the C of E’s record of racism.
“We don’t want the church to repeat its mistakes by neglecting the needs and desires of people coming here from Hong Kong,” said Reverend Mark Nam, a Bristol-based curate of Chinese heritage. “I’ve read many harrowing testimonies [of the Windrush generation]. We want the C of E to be ready and welcoming to everyone this time. We need to learn from history.”
Source: The Guardian #Aug14
https://bit.ly/37TBg5L
#UK #Churches #Christian #HongKong
The Church of England must not repeat its lack of welcome to the Windrush generation when thousands of Hong Kong Chinese people move to the UK in what could be the largest planned migration for decades, say clergy of Chinese heritage.
Many of those who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s were discouraged from attending or even turned away from Anglican churches. Last year, Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, spoke of his shame at the C of E’s record of racism.
“We don’t want the church to repeat its mistakes by neglecting the needs and desires of people coming here from Hong Kong,” said Reverend Mark Nam, a Bristol-based curate of Chinese heritage. “I’ve read many harrowing testimonies [of the Windrush generation]. We want the C of E to be ready and welcoming to everyone this time. We need to learn from history.”
Source: The Guardian #Aug14
https://bit.ly/37TBg5L
#UK #Churches #Christian #HongKong