1,000 officials demolish church

Christians kneel in the rubble of their church in this undated photo. (Photo: ChinaAid)

(Zhumadian, Henan—Nov. 2, 2019) About 1,000 officials swarmed a church in China’s Henan province last July. They then demolished it.

In the days leading up to the demolition, 60 government personnel broke into the church while 200 people were there worshipping. One of the officials claimed the Christians had illegally raised church funds and that the building was an unlawful structure. The church was asked to turn the building into a nursing home. The church members refused.

For the next four days, authorities monitored the church’s gate.

At 3:00 a.m. on July 26, about 1,000 government personnel gathered outside the church. They ordered that any people inside the church should be dragged out. Those present were forbidden from photographing the events and making phone calls, trying to not to draw attention.

Two Christians received injuries when the police forcibly removed them. An elderly Christian experienced a spike in blood pressure and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Police looted the building, and then church was demolished. It was worth more than 10 million yuan [$1,420,979.30 USD].

In August, 21 of the church’s members were arrested on a charge of “illegally detaining others.” This accusation came about after the Christians argued with the director of an official bureau, so the director could not immediately leave.