Christians Are Being 'Persecuted Even After Death' in China: Reports
The Chinese government is taking new steps to suppress Christianity, according to new reports.
“China is resurrecting the ‘God as the government state,’ and we’re all threatened by it — atheists, Jews, Christians — everyone,” David Curry, the president and CEO of Open Doors USA, told Fox News.
“The government’s tightening on the Christian community in China — an estimated 97 million people — is real and happening right now. Every once in a while, the Chinese government will arrest some pastors, or shut down churches, or do something aggressive like take down crosses from steeples. But more often, the way they squeeze the church is quieter — and perhaps deadlier,” Curry said on his group’s website.
“Their primary fear is that Christians who follow Jesus have a greater allegiance to Him than the Communist Party — and they want to squeeze the life out of that allegiance,” he wrote.
Christians in China are facing the worst crackdown since the Cultural Revolution
Even State-controlled churches are being destroyed now https://t.co/7k57ZJaLDa
— Benedict Rogers (@benedictrogers) January 27, 2020
I pray for the persecuted church, especially in China, Africa and in other parts of the world where Christianity is under threat. May they stay safe in adversity.
— Caroline Burt (@Carolin80951797) January 28, 2020
China’s new rules on religion take effect Saturday. Some of the rules were published by Asia News.
One article said that “religious organizations must adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, observe the constitution, laws, regulations, ordinances and policies, adhere to the principle of independence and self-government, adhere to the directives on religions in China, implementing the values of socialism … .”
“Religious organizations must spread the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as national laws, regulations, rules to religious personnel and religious citizens, educating religious personnel and religious citizens to support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, supporting the socialist system, adhering to and following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” another article said.
Asia News quoted what it said was a Chinese Catholic priest it did not name as saying, “In practice, your religion no longer matters, if you are Buddhist, or Taoist, or Muslim or Christian: the only religion allowed is faith in the Chinese Communist Party.”
The group Bitter Winter, which monitors persecution of Christians in China, has posted instances of what it labeled persecution on its website.
House Churches Subjected to Increasing Persecution
To drive believers into the state-run Protestant Church, the CCP threatens to take away their social benefits, shuts down and destroys meeting venues.https://t.co/gBIgHhaZqr— BitterWinterMagazine (@BitterWinterMag) January 30, 2020
It noted that regulations in Zhejiang province that took effect in December seek to “get rid of bad funeral customs and establish a scientific, civilized, and economical way of funerals.” The rules require that “clerical personnel are not allowed to participate in funerals,” and “no more than ten family members of the deceased are allowed to read scriptures or sing hymns in a low voice.”
In Hubei province, police raided a woman’s funeral and arrested the daughter of the deceased while she was praying. The woman was buried with no Christian service.
“When my father died, village officials threatened to arrest us if we didn’t conduct a secular funeral. We did not dare to go against them,” one village told Bitter Winter. “My father had been a believer for several decades. He is persecuted even after death.”
When police broke up a November 2018 funeral, an official told the family that if they wanted to sing, “they should go to the church and sing the national anthem instead.”
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