China: CCP systematically shutting down churches
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – China Aid reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continued to systematically close down churches and other Christian centers across the country.
China Aid listed in its report a number of Christian centers which have been closed by authorities this year, with details as to the reason given for the closure. In every case, the center was found to be in violation of the CCP’s “Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations.” Below is a list of centers that have been shut down since August this year alone.
On September 26, the “Berea Church” in Putian, Fujian Province, was shut down by the local Civil Affairs Bureau on the grounds that the church “never registered” and “has been gathering as an unregistered social group, China Aid reported.
Similarly, the Wenzhou Canaan Theological Seminary and all the church facilities were destroyed on September 20. “Senior Pastor Huang Jianle, Teacher Liu Shitao, Teacher Shi, and Teacher Sun were taken away by the police. All the seminary students were advised to return home,” China Aid said.
On September 7, the “Yangguangzhijia” Reformed Church in Changchun City, Jilin Province, was banned by the Changchun Civil Affairs Bureau. “According to official information, the church was banned due to its ‘unregistered’ status and because it was illegal to operate as a social group,” China Aid said.
On August 19, the Xi’an Civil Affairs Bureau shut down the “Fengsheng” Church, stating members “carried out activities in the name of social groups without authorization and are identified as illegal social organizations.”
“Religious freedom in China is getting worse by the day,” China Aid said in its October 20 report. China ranks 17 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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