China's Crackdown on Christians Continues
March 24, 2021
(CD) Chinese authorities in Xiamen City are encouraging locals to closely monitor their communities and report what it calls "illegal religious activities" -- gatherings of Christians who did not register to become part of China's state-sanctioned churches.
Xiamen City authorities are counting on local residents to help them locate and punish members of Christian house churches and other individuals engaging in "illegal religious activities." Xiamen's Xunsiding Church pastor Yang Xibo said that the Siming District United Front Department (UFD) or Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau made the announcement through a notice sent to local district offices.
According to International Christian Concern, the bureau's notice enlisted the help of all the residential committees to actively "inspect privately set up gathering places" to bolster the government's campaign against "illegal religious activities."
A report from ChinaAid revealed that such venues for "illegal religious activities" are in fact Christian house churches that are "unwilling to join the Three-Self Church and refuse to register with the Folk Religious Affairs Bureau on the basis of abandoning the principle of faith."
For two years now, the Xiamen City government has been demonstrating their control by suppressing these Christian house churches, implementing tough and destructive measures such as demolishing the houses, attacking churches, and arresting Christians.
Story source: Christianity Daily
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