Thursday, May 29, 2008

Chinese Persecution of House Churches Intensifies

ASSIST News Service and the Institute on Religion and Democracy report that the Ministry of Public Security has received funding from the Chinese Central Government to increase their campaign of eradicating house churches throughout China. While the amount of funds allocated for this campaign is unknown, the steady increase of persecution against house churches continues to rise substantially across China, says the China Aid Association (CAA). The IRD said a sudden increase of incidents involving both the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and the Public Security Bureau (PSB) is indicative of a crackdown. Whether or not the government is beginning a comprehensive effort to clear out house churches, local authorities of the government's enforcement apparatus are bearing down on Christians. In Xinjiang Province, officials have posted signs asking citizens to report any "evil cult activity," in this case meaning house churches, and two Christians in Xinjiang have been charged with the serious crime of being "separatists."

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