Chinese authorities raided a Protestant “house church” in the eastern province of Anhui amid a nationwide security clampdown during the annual National People’s Congress in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group and local Christians.
Police and local officials raided the Xinyi Village Church in Anhui’s Huainan city, detaining nine members including pastor Zhao Hongliang, the Christian rights group China Aid reported on March 5.
Four men including Zhao are now being held under “criminal detention,” while the remaining five were released on bail, the group said.
Local officials from the neighborhood committee and the bureau of religious affairs have taken control of the church premises, which police continue to harass its congregation, the report said.
The church is a member of the ruling Communist Party’s Three-Self Patriotic Association of approved organizations, but had refused to comply with official demands, according to China Aid (in Chinese).
Nationwide crackdown
Under President Xi Jinping, officials have engaged in a nationwide crackdown on Muslim, Christian and Tibetan Buddhist religious activities and venues since 2017.
Protestant churches are allowed to function if they are part of the government-backed Three-Self Patriotic Association. The three “selfs” refer to self-governance, self-support and self-propagation –- essentially rejecting any foreign influence –- and the “patriotic” refers to loyalty to the Chinese government.
China has many unauthorized “house churches” across the country, which are frequently raided by authorities, and some “Three-Self” churches have also been targeted at times, too.
A Protestant pastor surnamed Chen who is familiar with the Anhui case said the move was part of heightened security measures during the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
“The parliamentary sessions started on March 5, so controls are much tighter,” Chen said. “Things are pretty strict with churches ... with the state security police frequently harassing them and issuing warnings.”
According to a Feb. 26 directive from Huainan’s Panji district religious affairs bureau, the government have assigned officials to a task force to manage Xinyi Village Church, as part of a move to “strengthen the standardized management of religious sites.”
“They will enter the church to carry out relevant work until the church’s internal management is on track,” the notice said.
It threatened severe punishment for Christians who violated laws and regulations, saying, “Christian believers must participate in normal religious activities within the scope permitted by the constitution, laws, and regulations, in accordance with Christian doctrines and canons.”
“Violations of laws and regulations will be severely punished in accordance with the law and regulations,” the notice warned.
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Repeated calls to the Panji district government, its Tianji sub-district office and the district ethnic and religious affairs bureau rang unanswered during office hours on Friday.
A church in every village
A Protestant pastor at a “house church” in Huainan who gave only the surname Zhou for fear of reprisals said the area has a high proportion of Christians, with a church in every village.
“The local government may be looking to win approval [from higher up],” Zhou said. “Whenever a new leader takes office, he will crack down on churches.”
The Xinyi Village Church raid came after police in the southwestern region of Guangxi raided a house church in Baise city, taking away nine members including children, ChinaAid reported.
While most were released, three church members -- Qin Tao, Cui Tiande, and Chen Shaofeng -- have yet to be released, it said.
A pastor from Guangdong’s Jiangmen city who gave only the surname Sun for fear of reprisals said there have been reports of similar raids across China in recent weeks, particularly targeting Christians who bring their children to church events.
“Churches in Henan, Anhui, Shenzhen and other inland areas have been threatened and intimidated,” Sun said. “[The authorities are] saying that they shouldn’t allow minors to attend gathering, or that these are illegal gatherings.”
A house church member from the southwestern province of Yunnan who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin that authorities in Shangri-La have imposed a limit of eight people per gathering on churches in the area.
“No adults can’t gather in groups of more than seven or eight,” the person said. “The have installed surveillance cameras at their front doors.”
“There are also surveillance cameras in the church, but we don’t go there now.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.