Believers in Henan were unable to attend Sunday service at Protestant churches because of the shutdowns.
In Henan’s Xinzheng city, five churches that belong to the government-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement were targeted for shut down or removal of church crosses within a week.
It started with churches in villages of Zhenglaozhuang and Xixu that had their crosses removed on August 23.
Three days later, church service was being held at the Xiaoqiao villageThree-Self church. It was a Sunday and believers were expected to pour in from 7 am. However, they found paths leading up to the church being guarded by nearly 150 police officers that morning. Another 50 officers guarded the church.
The church had had its cross removed days ago and so seeing the police again made believers upset. When one asked about the reason for the shut down, he was told that the roads leading to the church were too narrow and in event of fire emergency, the trucks won’t be able to make their way inside. Realizing it to be ruse, the believer started shouting that he had a right to believe in God. The officer hit him in response.
The same day, churches in Weizhuang and Zhanggou were shut down while Sunday service was still in progress. Believers were threatened against showing up at the churches again.
Two days later, the officials returned to churches in Zhenglaozhuang and Xixu to install Chinese flags in the premises. They also recorded personal information of all believers who attended these churches.
Government propaganda continues to invade China’s places of worship, as they are turned into publicity centers to promote the Communist Party and its leaders.
A Three-Self Church report to the 20th Congress explains that the new concept of “Sinicization” of Christianity means accepting the “Marxist view of religion.”