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.
Why the Uyghurs are under pressure in Xinjiang
Both Muslims and Christians in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in north-west China find themselves under increased pressure from the Chinese authorities. An anti-terror mass rally in the southern city of Hotan in February, an increase in surveillance measures in public places, and the introduction of new anti-terror policies, are all […]
Can you be a Chinese Christian, and a member of the Communist Party?
In a popular internet forum, a young Chinese Christian recently asked if being a Christian and joining the Communist Party can go together, China Source reported on 14 March 2017. One answer came from a surprising source: The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CCCYL). It started with a […]
Chinese Communist Party using CCTV to ‘maintain social order’ at churches
The Chinese government is forcing churches in Zhejiang province to install CCTV reports UCA News. The Communist Party in the heavily Christian province on China’s east coast wants Catholic and Protestant churches to install CCTV cameras inside and outside their buildings, in a bid to control the number of Christians […]
Freedom House’s China report ‘misses big picture’
A new report on abuses of religious freedom in China “misses the big picture” when it comes to Christians, according to China-watcher Ian Johnson. Johnson says Freedom House’s new report, The Battle for China’s Spirit, focuses too much on the cross removals in Zhejiang Province and misses “the most important […]
Unauthorised Christian activity banned in Xinjiang
Chinese authorities in the north-western region of Xinjiang have banned all Christian activities not linked to state-approved churches, apparently in an “anti-terror” move. Zhu Xiaohu, a house-church member from the city of Wusu, was one of six Christians recently fined 1,000 yuan ($145). Their Bibles were also confiscated. “They want […]
Chinese pastor Joseph Gu arrested again
The former leader of China’s largest official Protestant “mega-church” has been arrested and charged for the second time with misappropriating funds. Gu Yuese (also known as Joseph Gu) was arrested on 7 January, a year after being arrested on the same charges. (He was released on bail in March 2016, […]
NGO law shows China’s ‘challenging environment’
Christians working in China may be facing the “most challenging environment in decades”, according to Brent Fulton, president of China Source. This observation comes following the 1 January introduction of a new law regulating foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which, according to a spokeswoman for the American Embassy in Beijing, could […]
‘Expendable’ Christians ‘victims of organ harvesting’ in China
Ethan Gutmann speaking at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington, DC, in September 2015. Christians meeting in “house churches” in China are amongst thousands of Chinese people “considered expendable” by the Chinese government and being used in the “harvesting” of organs, according to China watcher Ethan […]
China tightens grip on religion
The Chinese government has released a set of proposed amendments to its rules regulating religious affairs, as President Xi Jinping attempts to exert even greater control over how religion is practised. The new set of amendments, released to the public on 7 Sep. for a one-month consultation period, includes guidelines […]
China jails church leader for ‘subversion’
Chinese authorities have jailed long-time activist Hu Shigen, among hundreds of lawyers and activists arrested since 9 July last year: the date prompted the group to become known as ‘709’ . Hu, an elder of an “unregistered” Protestant church in Beijing, pleaded guilty in Tianjin (60 miles southeast of Beijing) to […]