Authorities are requiring underground churches to join the state-approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association if they want to continue holding gatherings.
Lin Yijiang
Sinicization of Religion Accelerates
China’s efforts to sinicize – or “make Chinese” – all official religions in the country have gained momentum in recent months. Evidence of this acceleration is, literally, blowing in the wind.
Officials Destroy Cemetery, TV News Says Villagers Approved
Authorities in Hainan Province destroyed a 500-year-old ancestral hill cemetery and then, when villagers standing up for their rights were met with government suppression and seizures by force, officials repackaged the story, saying the “villagers endorsed the relocation of the tombs.”
Authorities Shutter Home for Elderly Christians
In Putian city, in the southeastern province of Fujian, a home for the elderly run by a local, government-controlled Three-Self church was shut down, resulting in 80 elderly being kicked out of their residences.
One Dead, Many Beaten, in Zhejiang Illegal Land Seizure
Protests were violentlysuppressed after the government of Wenzhou city’s Longgang town illegally soldvillagers’ farmland to a natural gas company. During the resulting protests, oneperson was beaten to death, more than 20 people were seriously injured, andnine were arrested and detained.
Two House Churches Continue to Be Persecuted
Bitter Winter reported earlier about the harassment from authorities that the House of Eternal Blessing in Fujian and the House of David Church in Guangdong have been suffering in the past few months. Since then, new information has emerged about the predicament of these two house churches.
A Temple Forcibly Demolished Despite Residents’ Protests
A Buddhist Temple in Fujian Province was razed to the ground because of the local authorities’ plans to use its land for a real estate development with private companies.
Arrested Christians Severely Injured by Police
The police tortured nine co-workers from a house church in Hainan Province, most of them suffered internal injuries as a result.
Faculty and Staff at Universities Fired for Religious Belief
The CCP exerts an iron hand at universities across China in an attempt to make them “more patriotic.” Teachers and staff are expelled at the slightest suspicion of their faith.
Family of Seven Forced to Flee After Seeking Justice (Videos)
In a village of Fujian, authorities illegally demolished homes of residents to make way for the construction of a new villa. A family that lost two properties attempted to fight for their rights, but was persecuted and had to go into hiding to escape arrest.
Lin Yijiang
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.