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China

• China's Digital Clampdown

  

  As part of the ongoing crackdown on Christianity in China, Communist authorities have removed Bible apps and blocked Christian "WeChat" public accounts. Additionally, hard copies of Bibles are no longer available for sale online, and bookstores owned by the state-sanctioned Three-Self Churches have been increasingly displaying the teachings of President Xi Jinping rather than Christian books.

• Raids Against Banned Churches

  

  In May 2019, local authorities informed the Xunsiding Church in Xiamen, China, that they intended to officially close it down. Church members were threatened with the loss of their jobs unless they complied and, on May 19th, dozens of officers, including those of SWAT teams, raided the church service. In the following days, officers remained on site to ensure no one re-entered the facility (see this report for further details).

• Church Plundered in Raid

  

  On March 27th, Pastor Yang Jiale of the Yanjiao Abundance Church in Hebei, China, received a phone call from a government official asking him to unlock the door to the church building. Pastor Yang informed the caller that no one was in the building and no events were being held. Therefore, he didn't unlock the door.

• Continued Detention of Church Elder

  

  When Elder Zhang Chunlei, leader of the Renai Reformed Church in Guiyang, attempted to negotiate with officers after a gathering at the church was forcibly broken up on March 16th, the authorities decided to arrest him (see this report). Police followed up the arrest by searching the church leader's home, where they confiscated a computer, cell phone and other items belonging to his wife, Yang Aiqin. That same day, the homes of other church members were also raided.

• Christians Arrested After Church Raid

  

  On the morning of March 16th, agents from the religious affairs bureau, along with public security officers, raided the Renai Reformed Church in Guiyang, taking more than ten Christians into custody.

  Over the years, the church of less than a hundred members has faced ongoing harassment from Chinese Communist Party agents for refusing to join the government-sanctioned Three-Self Church. In September 2018, they lost their facility after being banned from meeting for worship services. Subsequently, the congregation began holding services in restaurants and hotels where they were raided at least three more times.

• Publisher Faces Three-Year Sentence; Pastor Faces Ongoing Harassment

  

  Geng Xiaonan, a well-known Chinese businesswoman who was charged with "illegal business practices," has been sentenced to three years in prison. Geng and her husband Qin Zhen were founders of an independent publishing house and have also worked in television and film. As previously reported in October 2020 (see more here), Geng had publicly expressed her concerns over the injustices and abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party.

• Prisoner Transferred for ''Concentrated Education''

  

  Pastor Zhang Shaojie had been the leader of the Nanle County Christian Church in Henan. In July 2014, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison for alleged fraud and disrupting social order (read more). At the time, his family was forced to flee the country, arriving in the United States through the assistance of VOMC partner, ChinaAid.

• Release of Pastor An Yankui

  

  In VOMC's previously posted Persecution and Prayer Alert, it was reported that Pastor An Yankui had been arrested on December 30th and sentenced to 15 days in prison. (This particular report may be reviewed here.)

  Due to the nature of China's judicial system, there can be frequent uncertainty regarding the details of an arrested person's sentencing. In this case, however, we are thankful to report that Pastor An was indeed released on January 16th and joyfully greeted outside the detention centre by his family and fellow members of the Xuncheng Reformed Church.

• Church Raided and Pastor Arrested

  

  An Yankui, the pastor of Xuncheng Reformed Church in Taiyuan, was hosting a Bible study in his home on December 30th when approximately three dozen security officers barged in without warning. After restraining those who were attending the study, the officers searched the home and confiscated choir robes, hymnals and Christian books.

• Teachers Forced to Deny Religious Beliefs

   

  

  Authorities in Wenzhou City have recently mandated that all teachers must sign a "Public Pledge Form." The document forbids educators from professing any religious beliefs and also demands that they agree not to engage in any practice or propagation of religion. Along with these enforced requirements, they must also support Marxist socialist principles.