Authorities in China forcibly removed Christians and arrested several faith leaders gathered at a state-recognized church that suddenly was deemed “illegal” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), moments before it was demolished, according to a Chinese persecution watchdog.
Around 1,000 Chinese personnel, including police officers, carried out a raid at the True Jesus Church in the province of Henan, forcibly removing congregants — including two elderly members who were injured in the incident and had to be taken to the hospital — before excavators began demolishing the church worth roughly $1.4 million, Bitter Winter, a religious liberty magazine focused on China, reported.
Marco Respinti, director-in-charge of the Italian-based publication, told Fox News the CCP persecution of religion is nothing new, but going after this church, one that belongs to the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, a state-sanctioned Protestant church “supposedly not touched by the state,” doesn’t bode well for open believers living in the Communist nation.
“One thousand people in the church, trying to defend their rights recognized by the state, removed and attacked in such a way, it’s really something that is kind of nightmare, and it doesn’t point to nothing nice for believers,” Respinti said. “We think this is the beginning of the last step by the CCP in persecuting minorities and religious groups.”
He added, “What we see now are the so-called protected religions harshly attacked by the state, making no difference between religions that are tolerated and underground movements.” – READ MORE