By Tim Phillips, The Guardian.
Chinese security forces have launched a roundup of church activists who opposed a Communist party campaign to remove crosses.
“At least nine people I know have been taken away by the police and that figure is still rising,” a church leader in the eastern province of Zhejiang – the operation’s focus – told the Guardian on Thursday afternoon.
“We think it is a campaign targeting church leaders across the province. It can only be a co-ordinated action initiated by the provincial government.”
Among those understood to have been detained is Zhang Kai, a prominent Beijing human rights lawyer who had been offering legal support to a number of churches in the region.
Friction between the Communist party and the church has been building in in Zhejiang since late 2013 when authorities initiated a demolition campaign that they said targeted illegal buildings.
So far more than 1,200 crosses have been removed, activists say. Several churches have been completely demolished, including the Sanjiang mega-church in Wenzhou, a city known as “China’s Jerusalem” because of its large Christian congregation.
In recent months there have been series of protests against the intensifying campaign, with one Catholic leader denouncing the cross removals as an “evil act”.
Authorities appear to have been angered by the growing pushback. This month China’s government-controlled media warned Zhejiang’s Christians not to resistthe removals or to speak out to foreign journalists.
On Tuesday a wave of detentions – apparently designed to extinguish any further dissent – began.
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and when the leader of this great country comes to visit the US…our wonderful leader has plans to treat him to a fancy dinner…isn;t that wonderful?
If a Republican were President, the state dinner would still happen..that’s just the way it is. US companies have sent thousands of American jobs to China at great profit, trust me, no one in any administration would stop this state visit based on these facts. End of Discussion.
Not sure why the “end of discussion” assertion, James. I would have said the exact same thing if we had a repub president planning this feast for China’s leader. Not sure why you thought it was just political. But there are indeed plenty of valid reasons to find this president’s performance pathetic and dangerous if you are looking….see yesterday’s George Will column on his ignorance towards Russia and Putin.
ct, Your quote “our wonderful leader” and you were not being political? The Bible says to pray for our leaders, whether we like them or not. I however in general agree with your comments. As far as George Will he’s an avowed atheist, I don’t have much use for that.
Many reasons I think he is a pathetic and dangerous “leader”…but his political party is not one of them. I may blame them (demo party)for being the first to fall for his empty rhetoric, but that (his party affiliation) is not the reason he is so ‘wonderful’.
The issue and persecution facing the Christians in China and where ISIS works is all about belief in Jesus Christ. People are dying and being jailed.
I am struck by the fact that in the USA and other countries where freedom of religion is acceptable the issue and division is about sexual immorality.
In both cases it is about accepting God’s word to a people in need of the saving grace offered by Jesus on the Cross. What does it matter if a person gains the whole world but loses his soul in eternity.
But, when I read about the persecuted Christians in other countries, the issues here in the PCUSA seem small in comparison.