BITTER WINTER

Testimonies China

Forced Temple Demolitions by the Chinese Government

Forced Temple Demolitions by the Chinese Government

Many Buddhist temples have been demolished since February across various provinces under the false pretext of “unapproved construction projects.” Hou Aiyun, the 83-year-old caretaker of the Guangxiao Temple in Zhengzhou, was barely awake when law enforcement personnel...

Muslim and Other Religious Beliefs Banned in Xinjiang Schools

Muslim and Other Religious Beliefs Banned in Xinjiang Schools

Elementary and middle school students in the region are being forced to abandon their religious belief. Preceding the holy month of Ramadan in May this year, the head teacher at a school in Xinjiang’s Turpan issued a verbal directive for all Uyghur or Islamic imagery...

Construction of a Three-Self Church Forcibly Stopped

Construction of a Three-Self Church Forcibly Stopped

Local authorities decided to stop the building of a church after they sold the land to the congregation and issued all necessary permits. The construction of a church building that belongs to China’s state-sanctioned Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement was...

New Centre for Three-Self Church Members Demolished    

New Centre for Three-Self Church Members Demolished    

Authorities destroy a newly-built center for members of a government-controlled Three-Self church in Guangdong Province. A believer from mainland China wrote to Bitter Winter about the destruction of a five-story center for believers built by a government-controlled...

Imam Arrested for Discussing the Quran Online

Imam Arrested for Discussing the Quran Online

An imam from Henan Province was lured to come to a police station and has been detained for over eight months. Wang Haoyi (pseudonym), an imam from Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo city in Henan Province was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government for explaining...

Hubei Couple Arrested for Contacts with Foreign Missionary

Hubei Couple Arrested for Contacts with Foreign Missionary

A couple who belonged to a house church in Xiaogan city, Hubei Province was monitored for a long time before their arrest. On May 10, 2018, the home of Chen Jie (pseudonym) and her husband, both members of a house church in Xiaogan City in Hubei Province, was forcibly...

Ergong Village Mosque Closed, 100 Muslims Arrested

Ergong Village Mosque Closed, 100 Muslims Arrested

Authorities closed down a Mosque in Ergong village in the city of Shihezi, Xinjiang, and sent local Muslims to a “transformation through education” camp in late April. A local villager said that on April 20, 2018, the Shihezi police and auxiliary police surrounded the...

House Church Leader Arrested While on the Run From Authorities

House Church Leader Arrested While on the Run From Authorities

A house church leader from Anhui Province sentenced to 18 months after the police apprehend him while on the run to evade arrest. The name of a house church leader, Wang Hui (pseudonym), from Bozhou city, Anhui Province, was put on the list of wanted persons after the...

Authorities Organized Arrests of Christians in Anhui Province

Authorities Organized Arrests of Christians in Anhui Province

Inside sources revealed that authorities organized an operation in March to arrest Christians in the city of Suzhou in Anhui Province. According to government insiders, on March 23, 2018, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a campaign against Christian house...