Persecution of Christians in China reached its highest level in more than a decade last year, as the government cracked down on church growth perceived as a threat to Communist Party power.
Texas-based China Aid Association (CAA) reported 572 cases of religious – mainly Christian – persecution last year, a 300% increase over the previous year’s 143 cases. The number of people affected in those cases jumped from 7,424 to 17,884 people. More than 1,592 were church leaders, compared with 800 the previous year.
China Aid reported: ‘The increase in government-sanctioned persecution against religious practitioners and human rights lawyers and advocates reflects the overall political transformation that is occurring within the Communist Party in China (CPC), namely an orchestrated effort to consolidate power and suppress dissent and any perceived threats to the Chinese government, including the growth of religion in China.’
Among church leaders persecuted, 449 were detained, compared with 54 the previous year, according to the report. In 2014, the number of people sentenced for activity related to their faith reached 1,274, compared with just 12 the previous year.
Eradicating church buildings
Authorities last year engaged in 71 cases of verbal, mental or physical abuse of believers, an increase of 343.75% over the previous year’s figure of 16, CAA reported. In those instances, 242 people were abused, an increase of 384% compared with 2013’s figure of 140.
A government campaign to eradicate church buildings exceeding size limits in Zhejiang Province accounted for some of the increase in cases of persecution. The campaign included actions against church buildings belonging to the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM).
‘In reality, the campaign indiscriminately removed and demolished crosses on church buildings and, in many cases, demolished the entire church building, regardless of whether the building had been previously approved by the Chinese government’, the CAA reported.
Anti-cult laws have also been applied to Christian churches. A Chinese government campaign begun in 2011 that aimed to eradicate house churches within ten years escalated in 2014.
