Yuhuan Church raided during Sunday service— three leaders arrested

The cross of a church in Yuhuan, Taizhou was forcibly demolished during the 2015 Zhejiang Demolition Movement
Photo: The cross of a church in Yuhuan, Taizhou was forcibly demolished during the 2015 Zhejiang Demolition Movement (ChinaAid source)

(Taizhou, Zhejiang province) So-called street and community workers disturbed Yuhuan Church’s Chengguang Branch during Sunday worship. Three church leaders were arrested and taken away for questioning; however, authorities released them later that afternoon. Community workers also took all the church’s Bibles and hymn books and sealed off the meeting space.

Previous meeting space

Yuhuan Church’s Chengguang Branch was established in 1990. They built four separate four-story houses in 1997 to host church functions. Since the pandemic in 2020, the location has been banned. However, many still maintain small-scale gatherings.

Denominations in Taizhou

Christianity was first introduced to Taizhou in the early years of Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. The development of the various denominations and sects was very complex. The first to introduce Christianity to Taizhou was the Anglican Church in China. Subsequently, the China Inland Mission, Methodist Church in China, Chinese Independence Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church of China, Jesuit missions in China, and local churches (and branch locations) were successively introduced. By the end of 1949, there were more than 20,000 Christians and 123 churches in Taizhou. As of today, there are more than 180 churches of various denominations in Taizhou.

Persecution in Yuhuan

In the past few years, Christian churches in Yuhuan County have been attacked by the government. For example, on August 30, 2010, the Yuhuan County government dispatched hundreds of police officers to expel dozens of believers from Mosan Christian Church who was praying. The officers kicked out the believers who were praying and demolished the prayer room. The official reason given was that the church building was an illegal building that had not been approved by the government, so it had to be demolished. However, these houses have been built for many years, and no one ever paid much attention to them prior. This was the place for Christians to pray, meet, and for the elderly to gather. The demolition caused more than 20 believers to bring a petition to the county government. However, to this date, the government has not engaged in dialogue.

Cross Demolition Campaign

During the large-scale removal of crosses in Zhejiang Province in 2015, the Yuhuan County government in Taizhou successively removed the crosses of Sanhe Church, Sanlian An’Xi Church in Chumen Town, Lingtou Church, and Tangli Church.

Fiery demolition

When the authorities forcibly demolished the crosses, there were some clashes between the police and some believers. Many people were forcibly escorted out of the church. When the cross of Sanlian An’Xi Church in Chumen Town was being demolished, the cross suddenly caught fire. The cause of the fire remains unknown. According to some church members, they have not ruled out the possibility that the engineering personnel accidentally started a fire when using the cutting tools. The video provided by the believers shows that a church member attempted to block the engineering personnel during the cross-removal process, and a person in camouflage uniform escorted the believer from the church to the outside.

Peaceful protests

When the crosses of Lingtou Church and Tangli Church were forcibly demolished, believers held up banners reading “We insist on obeying the law; We resolutely resist breaking the law; We oppose forced demolition” at the door of the churches, and sang songs while they protested against the forced demolition. Engineers in blue uniforms smashed the bottom of the cross with a sledgehammer and took the cross away. Some Christian churches in Taizhou also issued a statement protesting against the government’s removal of crosses in various ways. These protests failed to change the situation. 54 churches had their crosses removed forcibly in Yuhuan County, Taizhou.

Church during COVID

During the three-year pandemic, churches in Taizhou could hardly meet face-to-face like many others across China. As soon as the pandemic was over, offline gatherings finally resumed. But the churches were also immediately hit again. This shows that the Chinese government will not relax its suppression of Christianity.

~ Yu Bing ChinaAid Special Reporter

News
Read more ChinaAid stories
Click Here
Write
Send encouraging letters to prisoners
Click Here
Previous slide
Next slide

Send your support

Fight for religious freedom in China

Yuhuan Church raided during Sunday service— three leaders arrested

The cross of a church in Yuhuan, Taizhou was forcibly demolished during the 2015 Zhejiang Demolition Movement
Photo: The cross of a church in Yuhuan, Taizhou was forcibly demolished during the 2015 Zhejiang Demolition Movement (ChinaAid source)

(Taizhou, Zhejiang province) So-called street and community workers disturbed Yuhuan Church’s Chengguang Branch during Sunday worship. Three church leaders were arrested and taken away for questioning; however, authorities released them later that afternoon. Community workers also took all the church’s Bibles and hymn books and sealed off the meeting space.

Previous meeting space

Yuhuan Church’s Chengguang Branch was established in 1990. They built four separate four-story houses in 1997 to host church functions. Since the pandemic in 2020, the location has been banned. However, many still maintain small-scale gatherings.

Denominations in Taizhou

Christianity was first introduced to Taizhou in the early years of Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. The development of the various denominations and sects was very complex. The first to introduce Christianity to Taizhou was the Anglican Church in China. Subsequently, the China Inland Mission, Methodist Church in China, Chinese Independence Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church of China, Jesuit missions in China, and local churches (and branch locations) were successively introduced. By the end of 1949, there were more than 20,000 Christians and 123 churches in Taizhou. As of today, there are more than 180 churches of various denominations in Taizhou.

Persecution in Yuhuan

In the past few years, Christian churches in Yuhuan County have been attacked by the government. For example, on August 30, 2010, the Yuhuan County government dispatched hundreds of police officers to expel dozens of believers from Mosan Christian Church who was praying. The officers kicked out the believers who were praying and demolished the prayer room. The official reason given was that the church building was an illegal building that had not been approved by the government, so it had to be demolished. However, these houses have been built for many years, and no one ever paid much attention to them prior. This was the place for Christians to pray, meet, and for the elderly to gather. The demolition caused more than 20 believers to bring a petition to the county government. However, to this date, the government has not engaged in dialogue.

Cross Demolition Campaign

During the large-scale removal of crosses in Zhejiang Province in 2015, the Yuhuan County government in Taizhou successively removed the crosses of Sanhe Church, Sanlian An’Xi Church in Chumen Town, Lingtou Church, and Tangli Church.

Fiery demolition

When the authorities forcibly demolished the crosses, there were some clashes between the police and some believers. Many people were forcibly escorted out of the church. When the cross of Sanlian An’Xi Church in Chumen Town was being demolished, the cross suddenly caught fire. The cause of the fire remains unknown. According to some church members, they have not ruled out the possibility that the engineering personnel accidentally started a fire when using the cutting tools. The video provided by the believers shows that a church member attempted to block the engineering personnel during the cross-removal process, and a person in camouflage uniform escorted the believer from the church to the outside.

Peaceful protests

When the crosses of Lingtou Church and Tangli Church were forcibly demolished, believers held up banners reading “We insist on obeying the law; We resolutely resist breaking the law; We oppose forced demolition” at the door of the churches, and sang songs while they protested against the forced demolition. Engineers in blue uniforms smashed the bottom of the cross with a sledgehammer and took the cross away. Some Christian churches in Taizhou also issued a statement protesting against the government’s removal of crosses in various ways. These protests failed to change the situation. 54 churches had their crosses removed forcibly in Yuhuan County, Taizhou.

Church during COVID

During the three-year pandemic, churches in Taizhou could hardly meet face-to-face like many others across China. As soon as the pandemic was over, offline gatherings finally resumed. But the churches were also immediately hit again. This shows that the Chinese government will not relax its suppression of Christianity.

~ Yu Bing ChinaAid Special Reporter

News
Read more ChinaAid stories
Click Here
Write
Send encouraging letters to prisoners
Click Here
Previous slide
Next slide

Send your support

Fight for religious freedom in China

Scroll to Top