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| Officials check ID’s of house church Christians in this undated photo. (Photo: ChinaAid) |
ChinaAid
(Dongguan, Guangdong—Feb. 10, 2018) A church in China’s southern Guangdong received orders to close its doors when officials subpoenaed its leader to the police station recently.
For the past month, local officials have harassed Christians across China, including Shi Hongchao, who received an official summons from the public security personnel in his area. Upon his arrival, officials held him there for more than 20 hours, during which they demanded that the church stop holding services.
An anonymous reverend in Dongguan, where Shi’s church is located, said, “At that time, the police interrogated him about matters related to the church’s Sunday School program and seized some religious books. Later, Shi Hongchao’s wife was kept at the police station for more than two hours and then set free, and [afterwards], Shi Hongchao was summoned for 24 hours because he had a dispute with the police. [At the time of this interview], Shi’s cell phone is still being held at the police station.”
In Guangdong’s capital, Guangzhou, street management officials told house church leaders in late January that the newly revised Religious Affairs Regulations would soon go into effect, requiring them to comply with new, restrictive policies designed to eliminate house churches.
Similarly, house churches in Zhengzhou, Henan, have been receiving notices that their services will be suspended and are contacting lawyers in preparation to sue various government departments and file for administrative reconsideration. Currently, some of the churches have asked the religious affairs bureau to revoke its decision to cease church services; however, public security bureau agents have been harassing the Christians making them reluctant to publicly detail the persecution. They hope the government will correct their choice to close the churches.
The new regulations went into effect on Feb. 1.
ChinaAid reports these abuses in order to promote widespread exposure of China’s human rights and religious freedom abuses, standing up for the rights of Chinese citizens and promoting rule of law.
ChinaAid Media Team
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