Six church branches forced to close as government alleges non-compliance

A gate secured by officials at one of Zion Church’s branches. (Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Beijing—Aug. 11, 2018) Authorities recently closed six branches of Zion Church, located in Beijing, claiming that its members refused to register with the government.

In addition to these six locations, the church’s headquarters is also facing conflict with officials and may be forced to close.

Since May, stability maintenance officers from local government departments have bribed the church’s attendees to leave it by promising them good occupations, good schools for their children, solutions to other problems, or threatening their jobs. One police officer said, “We asked Zion Church to register, but the church has continuously refused. Other churches have all registered. It is just Zion Church that refuses to register.”

This, however, is false. The church’s pastor, Jin Mingri, said, “No [government] department has asked me to register the church in the past 10 years.” Furthermore, 40 unregistered churches recently signed a joint statement calling on the government to respect their histories and current situations.

Authorities have also broken into the home of one of Zion Church’s members before she could even get dressed and prepare herself for investigation.