Nanjing church demolished

A Christian cries as officials demolish a church in Nanjing. (Photo: ChinaAid)

(Nanjing, Jiangsu—Nov. 21, 2019) In the deep of the night in Nanjing, Christians wailed as authorities demolished their church.

The building hosted services for more than 1,000 Christians in the area. Some of them were inside the church when the authorities arrived, and the officials dragged them out. Government agents beat some of them and then blocked off the church.

The Christians knelt next to the demolition, crying and screaming. Many of them said that they did not know where else to practice their faith.

Ignoring them, the authorities tore the church down.

This is just the latest in a series of Chinese church demolitions. An anonymous Nanjing pastor told ChinaAid he believes the government’s motive is to destroy Christianity.

Since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2013, he has instituted “religion with Chinese characteristics,” a scheme to bring theology under government control. The Chinese government fears the spread of religion will undermine their power. This prompted officials to enact new regulations regarding religion and clamp down on churches.