Tag: China

North Korean explains growing up under Kim dynasty, and how his perception of Christianity changed

March 20, 2018 North Korea Bibles, Children, China, Communism, Crosses, Education, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-Un, Missionaries, North Korea, Pyongyang, USA

Every year, for the birthdays of North Korea’s Kim dynasty founder, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor, Kim Jong-il, John Choi* would receive a large pack of sweets from his parents. So would all his primary-school peers. However, before unpacking his present, John was told to follow the ritual . . . Read More

50,000 Catholics baptised in China in 2017

February 28, 2018 China Baptism, Beijing, Catholics, China, Hainan, Hebei, Minorities, Tibet, Xinjiang

Almost 50,000 Catholic baptisms were recorded in mainland China last year, reports Catholic news agency Fides. The 48,556 recorded baptisms “reflect the vitality and the missionary dynamism of a community that fully lives faith”, Fides said, adding that the actual number of people baptised may be even higher, because of . . . Read More

China: 100 Christians sent to ‘re-education’ camps in Xinjiang

February 2, 2018 China China, Communism, Converts, Hui, Terrorism, Uyghurs, Xinjiang

More than 100 Christians have been sent to “re-education” camps in China’s north-western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the past few months, World Watch Monitor has learned. In these camps, also known as “study centres” or “mind-transformation centres”, they are taught how to be loyal to the communist ideology. Most . . . Read More

China’s new religion regulations expected to increase pressure on Christians

February 1, 2018 China Chengdu, China, Guiyang, Guizhou, Religious freedom, Sichuan

All religious establishments in China will be bound by the new Regulations for Religious Affairs that came into force today (1 February). The regulations, which define the administrative framework around religious activities, have the stated aim of “protect[ing] citizens’ freedom of religious belief”. Detailed criteria are given for religious organisations . . . Read More

Chinese bishop reshuffle reinforces fears of state meddling

January 30, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Crosses, Guangdong, Pope Francis, Religion Law, Shantou, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Fears are growing that China’s communist government may be gaining more control over the Catholic Church there, as news emerged that the Vatican asked two bishops it had appointed to step aside in favour of ones selected by Beijing. These developments have taken place following a state campaign against China’s . . . Read More

For Chinese Muslims the cost of becoming a Christian is loneliness

January 24, 2018 China China, Converts, Hui, Uyghurs, Xinjiang

"Id Kah Mosque", the 500-year-old main mosque in Kashgar, one of the westernmost cities of China, in Xinjiang, where up to 7,000 Muslims gather every Friday for prayer. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2009)

For the few thousand Muslims in China who have become Christians, life is characterised by loneliness. Cast out from their families and communities, in the rural areas where most of them live it is difficult to find other Christians, especially under China’s strict religion regulations. Often Christians of Muslim background . . . Read More

China: 6 Christians jailed as pressure on churches increases

January 23, 2018 China China, Churches, Communism, Guizhou, Huoshi Church, Religious freedom, Shanxi, Su Tianfu, Xi Jinping, Xinjiang, Yang Hua, Yunnan

Group of Christians praying together in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Chinese court in the southwestern province of Yunnan sent six Protestant Christians to prison last week for their membership of an “evil cult”. The verdict comes as part of a provincial crackdown on cults, as the ruling Communist Party continues its national campaign to restrict unregistered churches before new religious . . . Read More

Prominent China church demolished – second in month

January 12, 2018 China China, Churches, Communism, House churches, Protestants, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xinjiang

Explosives are set off in the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi province, in a still taken from a video.

Chinese authorities demolished a church in northern China this week, the second in less than a month, ahead of new regulations on religion due to come into force on 1 February. Explosives were set off inside the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi province on Tuesday (9 January). According to . . . Read More

Chinese priest missing after ‘brief chat’ with authorities

January 11, 2018 China China, Peter Shao Zhumin, Protestants, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

China's Communist Party is trying to suppress rapid growth among religions.(Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Chinese priest has been missing from his home town in China’s eastern Zhejiang province since government officials took him away just after Christmas “for a brief chat”. Father Lu Danhua was taken from a priest’s dormitory on 29 December by officials of the State Administration for Religious Affairs to . . . Read More

US State Department adds Pakistan to religious-freedom watch list

January 5, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Minorities, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Burial of victims of a suicide attack on the Methodist Bethel Church in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday 17 December 2017 in which at least 9 people were killed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The US State Department has placed Pakistan on a “Special Watch List” for severe violators of religious freedom, it announced yesterday (4 January) with the publication of its annual list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’. The announcement comes as the US government cuts security aid to Pakistan, saying the country . . . Read More

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