A South Korean-sponsored Christian house church in Heilongjiang’s Hegang city was closed down after a raid by the police.
On June 17, 2018, more than 100 police officers broke through three gates guarded by believers to raid the meeting place of a South Korean house church in Hegang city, Heilongjiang Province. Members of the congregation were all surrounded, and all the doors and windows of the church were locked. Several officers were stationed outside the church to prevent believers from leaving.
The police recorded the personal information of everyone who was in the church, confiscated their money, and later forcibly escorted the pastor and the church’s key personnel to the Public Security Bureau to search and interrogate them. The church was shut down, leaving its members nowhere to congregate.
Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese Communist Party has been carrying out an organized operation to crack down on South Korea’s Christian churches and missionaries throughout China. Sources report that in some villages, local authorities visit each household to find out if anyone has joined South Korean Christian churches. Bitter Winter has reported on propaganda campaigns in schools and universities to discredit South Korean Christianity, and missionaries and preachers deported from China.
Reported by Piao Junying
