BITTER WINTER

China

Three-Self Church Converted Into Political Activity Center

Three-Self Church Converted Into Political Activity Center

A newly-built state-sanctioned Protestant Three-Self Church in Luohe city, Henan, forcibly occupied by authorities and transformed into a center for Communist Party members. The Caodian Church, located in Wenshi township, Yuanhui district of Luohe was still undergoing...

Fleeing Christians Return to China, Become Key Police Targets

Fleeing Christians Return to China, Become Key Police Targets

The Chinese authorities often target Christians or Chinese citizens who flee the country but then return. In August 2017, Jiang Han (pseudonym) returned to China. A member of The Church of Almighty God, a Chinese Christian new religious movement, he had returned to...

CCP Removes Cross By Deceit In Zhejiang

CCP Removes Cross By Deceit In Zhejiang

The authorities continue their mission of removing church crosses by whatever means possible. In Mainland China, a campaign of forced demolitions or removals of church crosses has been underway since the past four years. As of July 2015, over 1700 crosses had been...

More Destroyed Mosques in Xinjiang

More Destroyed Mosques in Xinjiang

Seven out of eight mosques in one of the areas of Lianmuqin town in Xinjiang have been demolished; the remaining one is strictly supervised. According to a local source, seven of the eight mosques in the Shanshan county’s 11th Brigade of Lianmuqin town, have already...

Authorities Deny Certification to Church, Demolish it Arbitrarily

Authorities Deny Certification to Church, Demolish it Arbitrarily

A Three-Self church in Yunnan Province was arbitrarily demolished to make way for “consolidation.” On April 8, the Three-Self government-controlled Denglongba Church received a notice from the Lushui City Bureau of Religious Affairs that the church’s certification has...

Islamic Symbols Removed from Buildings in Wuzhong, Ningxia

Islamic Symbols Removed from Buildings in Wuzhong, Ningxia

Recently, Bitter Winter received information that Islamic symbols on the buildings in a farmers’ market in Wuzhong city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, were all taken down. The Clear Water Bay market in Tongxin county, located in a Hui neighborhood, occupies an area...

CCP Denies Tourist Visas To Christian Citizens

CCP Denies Tourist Visas To Christian Citizens

The authorities refused to issue tourist visas to citizens wanting to visit South Korea. Following the implementation of the new Regulations of Religious Affairs, Chinese citizens of Christian faith are finding it difficult to obtain permission to travel out of China....

Imprisoned Two Years After Protesting Cross Demolition

Imprisoned Two Years After Protesting Cross Demolition

Three Christians were sentenced to jail time two years after they were protecting a government-approved church’s cross from being torn down in Zhejiang. In March 2013, Zhejiang provincial government launched a three-year (2013–2015) “Three Rectifications and One...