Elderly Christian in Hubei Arrested for Sharing Gospel
A 70-year-old woman was deemed a criminal by the authorities and has been in police custody for over a year.
A magazine on religious liberty and human rights
A 70-year-old woman was deemed a criminal by the authorities and has been in police custody for over a year.
Xishan Temple, which cost $1 million RMB to be built in 2005 by a Buddhist woman from Huangshi city, in the central province of Hubei, is now a pile of ruins — thanks to a government demolition crew.
A local Religious Affairs Bureau in Hubei Province summoned local Buddhists to a meeting about the newly revised Regulations on Religious Affairs. Not only were they required to pay a participation fee, but also had to purchase national flags and fire extinguishers.
Any display of disagreement with the Communist Party in China is quashed, even when it concerns the health and wellbeing of an entire town. Nearly 2,000 police officers were sent in to deal with protesting residents in Bahe earlier this month.
As part of the nationwide campaign, the Wuhan city authorities in Hubei Province demolished a 36-meter-tall Guanyin statue in October. The demolition of Buddhist sites is not only an assault on religious liberties but also on the lives of locals who work there.
Due to severe persecution of The Church of Almighty God, the children of the believers on the run from authorities cannot attend schools to receive the compulsory nine years of education.
In the past two months, law enforcement and government agencies ransacked a Sola Fide church in Hunan because its leadership refused to join the government-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
A member of The Church of Almighty God from Hubei Province was arrested in September and died almost a month later. The family of the deceased suspect foul play on behalf of authorities, which may have caused her death.
Authorities in some cities of Hebei Province implemented special campaigns earlier this year to crack down on churches that are not part of the government-controlled Catholic organization, closing down places of worship and arresting members of the clergy.
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