With nearly 100 million Christians, the Church is the largest social force in China not controlled by the Communist Party. As a result, there are increasing efforts to restrict the way Christians operate. A considerable number of Christians are still imprisoned. Church meetings continue to be disrupted in several provinces. Churches have also been closed and landlords pressured to stop renting to Christians. In 2017 some of China’s underground churches were pushed to join the state-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement, while a new law on religion is being rolled out in 2018.
China’s worship places face obligation to fly national flag
All places of worship in China will have to fly the national flag on national and religious holidays if a proposal by state-sanctioned religious institutions is implemented, reports Radio Free Asia (RFA). “All religious venues should raise China’s national flag to strengthen awareness of respect to the flag and preserve […]
‘Is it necessary for the government to do this?’ asks Chinese Christian after church demolition
Chinese authorities have demolished a church in Jinan, Shandong province, to make way for further development of the area, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. Liangwang Catholic Church was legally registered with the religious administration. So was Shilihe Church, of the same diocese, demolished earlier this year. A third church, Wangun […]
China: Beijing churches call for government to respect religious rights
In a joint declaration, 34 churches in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have called on the government to respect the freedom and rights of religious citizens, advocacy group CSW reports. The churches, which are independent from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, committed to “stand together” in the “new environment” that had […]
China’s Catholics told to create five-year plan to Sinicise Church
Catholic dioceses in China have been told to come up with a five-year plan outlining how they will adapt more to Chinese culture and show loyalty to the Communist Party, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. A 15-page document, given to the churches by the state-approved Bishops’ Conference of the […]
Chinese churches ‘more careful who they allow in’, as raids increase
Churches in China are becoming more careful over who they let in to their buildings, as government pressure increases following the implementation of new religious regulations earlier this year. Local authorities have been pressured to take action. In Guangzhou, for example, the capital of the southern province Guangdong, a local […]
China: Xinjiang’s children in orphanages as their parents held in re-education camps
As a rally in support of China’s prisoners of conscience took place in the streets of Washington DC last week, an ongoing Chinese government crackdown on its Uyghur-people in Xinjiang province is tearing both Muslim and Christian families and communities apart. The rally, hosted by five rights groups in the […]
China: Henan churches told to sing national anthem at services
Local authorities in China’s central Henan province have stipulated that all churches must have a Chinese flag on display and sing the national anthem at each gathering. In the “Special Emergency Notice” circulated earlier this month, they also asked clergy to collect data on their members, especially on those from […]
China: New book explains ‘explosive’ growth of Christianity
A new book describes the growth of Christianity in China, despite attempts by the government to clamp down on religion. “Things are heading back to how they were in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s. Believers in some provinces have already told us things there are ‘just like […]
China’s ‘underground’ churches told to seek ‘guidance’ from state-approved bodies
A newly implemented directive from the Chinese government forces Protestant ‘house churches’ and Catholic ‘underground’ communities to seek “guidance” from recognised religious organisations. A notification from the State Administration for Religious Affairs, issued earlier this month, requires organisers of religious activities at temporary sites to also apply for a permit […]
Chinese pastor released after two and a half years in prison
A Chinese pastor was released yesterday (19 June), after being detained for two and a half years for “illegally possessing state secrets”, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Pastor Yang Hua of Huoshi Church (which means Living Stone), in the south-western province of Guizhou, was arrested in December 2015. He was […]