Police in China given quotas for how many Christians to arrest

Police in China given quotas for how many Christians to arrest
Police stations in a city in northeast China are having their performance evaluated according to the number of Christians they arrest, says religious-liberty magazine Bitter Winter. A police officer from Dalian, a port city in Liaoning Province, near the North Korean border, told the magazine that his station had received . . . Read More

Chinese church leaders released, as parents ignore religious-teaching ban

A Chinese Christian holds a Bible standing outside the largest Chinese church in the world: the Three Self church which seats 5,000 people, in Hangzhou city. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Chinese bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of the coastal city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, was released on Wednesday (3 January) after being detained for seven months – the second high-profile church leader released in the past two weeks. It is thought international pressure helped secure the bishop’s release, according to AsiaNews. In . . . Read More

German ambassador makes rare criticism of China over religious freedom

German ambassador makes rare criticism of China over religious freedom
The German ambassador to China has made an official request that the Beijing government release Peter Shao Zhumin, the bishop of Wenzhou, reports Asia News. It is thought to be the first request of this kind made to China in 10 years. In his official statement on his embassy’s website . . . Read More

Chinese Communist Party using CCTV to ‘maintain social order’ at churches

Cross on Dongguang Church in Shenyang, north-eastern China
The Chinese government is forcing churches in Zhejiang province to install CCTV reports UCA News. The Communist Party in the heavily Christian province on China’s east coast wants Catholic and Protestant churches to install CCTV cameras inside and outside their buildings, in a bid to control the number of Christians . . . Read More