With nearly 100 million Christians, the Church is the largest social force in China not controlled by the Communist Party. As a result, there are increasing efforts to restrict the way Christians operate. A considerable number of Christians are still imprisoned. Church meetings continue to be disrupted in several provinces. Churches have also been closed and landlords pressured to stop renting to Christians. In 2017 some of China’s underground churches were pushed to join the state-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement, while a new law on religion is being rolled out in 2018.
China to shut churches during G20
House churches in a part of Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, have been told to close down when the city hosts China’s first-ever G20 summit, reports . The coastal province, known as the ‘Jerusalem’ of the east as many of China’s estimated 70-80 million Christians are there, is […]
Church where pastor’s wife killed wins land rights
Less than two weeks after a pastor’s wife was killed in a government authorised church demolition in China’s central Henan province, the and its pastor for use as a religious site. A task force made up of the township government, the local ministry of land and resources, and a village administrative […]
Hong Kong Christians oppose Beijing’s policy
Christians in Hong Kong protested outside Beijing’s liaison office there Sunday, urging the Chinese authorities to respect religious freedoms following President Xi Jinping’s recent insistence that religious groups ‘devote themselves’ to his reforms, . Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiun, the former Bishop of Hong Kong, joined about 50 protestors at the […]
China: woman buried alive in church demolition
The wife of a church leader in China’s central Henan province was killed by being buried alive when she tried to prevent the destruction of her husband’s house-church, . Ding Cuimei and her husband, Li Jiangong, stepped in front of a bulldozer as it began to destroy Beitou church on […]
China: TV ‘confession’ of Christian lawyer
A well-known Christian rights lawyer who tried to help prevent a wave of by Chinese authorities has appeared on state television confessing to crimes after a months-long disappearance – the latest case in China’s widening crackdown on Christians. On a news programme on state-controlled Wenzhou TV on 25 Feb., Zhang […]
China is world’s largest producer of Bibles
China continues to be the largest producer of Bibles in the world, thanks to the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing. Twelve million copies came off Amity’s presses in 2015, the majority for export. The company stated in a press release that it has the capacity to print 20 million Bibles each […]
China: Zhejiang pastor jailed for 14 years
A Chinese pastor has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, and his wife to 12 years, after they were found guilty of corruption, financial crimes and gathering people to disturb social order, an official provincial newspaper reported today (26 Feb.). Both Bao Guohua, the pastor of a state-sanctioned church, […]
China pastor arrest ‘politically motivated’
The pastor of China’s largest official Protestant church has been detained and accused with embezzling funds. Rights activists claim his detention is “politically motivated”, after he spoke out against the government’s . Gu Yuese is pastor of Chongyi Church in Hangzhou, a government-approved church with around 10,000 members. He was […]
‘Career ending’ arrest for Chinese lawyers
China has now formally arrested and charged some of the rights protestors detained during the last six months. The serious charges of subverting state power caught many observers off guard; the maximum penalty is life in prison. For the lawyers, this would “end their careers”, reports . Among those detained […]
China church raided during opening ceremony
One of the biggest churches in China’s Guizhou province is coming under increasing pressure from the authorities. Huoshi Church in Guiyang, which has around 300 members, was raided by police during the opening ceremony of its new venue in commercial premises, attended by hundreds of guests, including several foreigners. The […]