A Christian man and woman from central China are on the run after their church was raided and they were given a fine, persecuted church agency Open Doors has revealed.
Qiang (not his real name) and his wife had been discipling believers from the Han Chinese ethnic majority group before it was raided earlier this year. House churches are illegal in China, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-approved, heavily monitored Three Self Patriotic Church is the only one permitted. Several leaders, including the couple and the church’s main leader, were arrested. Most were detained for five days and fined the equivalent of £2,100, but the leader will be held indefinitely as he is unable to pay his fine of £32,200.
Qiang and his wife have also not paid their fine and have since escaped to another province. They remain wanted by the authorities, who continue to visit their home demanding the fine. Threats have even been made to family members to get them to disclose the couple’s whereabouts. But even if they could pay the fine, the couple fear the case against them will remain open, leading to more punishment. They are therefore very reluctant to return.
‘Even though they experienced this, they have never mentioned giving up on Christ,’ an Open Doors local partner says. ‘Now they are in a new province and participate in the ethnic minority work even more passionately.’ However, neither of them has yet found suitable work, meaning their income is unstable.
Following the raid, the church has been unable to meet, with some members withdrawing from fellowship entirely. This is not unusual, as so many Christians are experiencing persecution for the first time as the Chinese authorities, with their tightening of religious laws and increasing use of sophisticated surveillance, intensify their crackdown on church activities.
This persecution is set to get far worse as the CCP brings in its new Administrative Measures for Religious Activity Venues. This prescribes that religious venues must actively broadcast CCP propaganda or be closed down. That propaganda must be included in sermons and CCP literature studied in all places of worship. Religious symbols, such as crosses, may no longer be displayed outdoors. Christians already suffer unprecedented censorship on the internet, where there is a strict ban on religious content without an official licence. This includes videos of sermons, making it increasingly difficult for Christians to gather online.
‘China is one of the worst oppressors of Christianity in the world and this is a further attempt to clamp down on the church,’ says Paul Robinson of Release International. ‘Yet by every account Christianity in China is growing. The number of Christians in China has long surpassed the membership of the Communist Party.’
Bob Fu, President of ChinaAid, says: ‘I don’t think I’ve seen the Chinese Communist Party as bold as they’ve been this summer in playing God and twisting how the gospel is taught. The only correct perspective in the eyes of the communist government is worship of the state and placing faith in Xi Jinping Thought.’
