The Voice of the Martyrs has recently received a copy of an official Chinese government document outlining a new offensive on underground house churches. In part, the document reads: "We have dealt with the Falun-gong. We have arrested and put their leaders on the run. Now we must resolutely and strongly deal with the unregistered house churches. They are too numerous -- too many. We must deal with them strongly." The document suggests the increased pressure would be from April to August 2005.
On May 22, during Sunday worship time, police and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers simultaneously raided approximately 60 house churches in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province in northeastern China. In the days following, an additional 40 churches in the area were also raided.
More than 600 house church believers and leaders were taken into custody. Most were released after 24 to 48 hours of interrogation, but approximately 100 leaders are still being held in different detention centers.
This is clearly a major assault on unregistered house churches in Jilin province. VOM sources suggest that the amount of man-power, coordination and planning involved in raiding 60 church meetings simultaneously shows this effort came from high levels of the Chinese government.
One church pastor, Zhao Dianru, 58, was arrested May 22 and released Monday, June 6, after 15 days of "administrative detention." Zhao’s arrest document accused him of "using other means to instigate and disturb social stability," but did not mention religion or church activities. According to reliable contacts in that area, at least 20 boxes of Christian books were confiscated during the police raids.
VOM sources say that university students, professors and other young intellectuals make up a large portion of the raided house church groups. It's believed this is a coordinated campaign to eliminate house church influence in the university areas. At least three of the arrested church leaders work as professors at Changchun University. The three were also released after 15 days of detention, but are being watched by PSB officers.
China's new law on religion, the Provisions on Religious Affairs, took effect March 1. Some believed the new law would lead to less restriction on unregistered churches, but these large-scale raids and arrests seem to show otherwise.
The raided house churches are not all part of the same group, and are not affiliated with any of China’s major house church networks. They are independent house churches with thousands of believers who choose not to register their Christian activities with the Communist government.
One church leader who was held for 15 days and then released told VOM contacts that he and the churches he leads had been asked three times in recent months to join the government-sanctioned Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), but had refused. The TSPM is the state-approved Protestant organization. TSPM churches must meet in a government-approved location, have a government-approved church leader, and are prohibited from allowing children under 18 to attend church meetings.
Pray for strength of mind, heart and faith for those arrested in these attacks. Pray for stability and the recognition of God's presence and guidance for the members of these house churches. We encourage Christians around the world to write their government leaders asking that pressure be put on the Chinese government to respect the basic rights of their citizens. Click here for government contact information.
For more information on the persecution of Chinese Christians, click here. Assorted video clips from the underground church in China are also available on our multimedia website at www.vomcanada.com.
Population
