Some individuals were arrested which including at least two women were injured in China’s Henan province after 200 communist officials stormed into Sunzhuang Church China, which is part of a network of administration run churches, and brought it down using cranes and heavy-duty machinery.
These individuals threw the church’s furniture and other belongings out of the building before razing it, reported China Aid, which helps those who are persecuted by the Communist Party in China.
A Christian woman who tried to resist the officials lost consciousness after being pushed to the ground. Herself and another female member of the church who was beaten had to be hospitalized, the group said, and a male church attendee was taken into custody.
The Sunzhuang Church China, joined the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in June 2012, when the communist government allowed it to build a new church building. Subsequently after the building had been constructed in June 2013, the church received eviction and demolition notices from the Sunzhuang village authorities.
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The Chinese Aid said the 2013 decision to demolish the church was made without the villagers’ consent and authorities were barred from carrying out the demolition at the time. Alternatively, vehicles owned by Henan province threw tons of dirt and rocks at the church’s doorway. Administrators also cut off electricity and water to the church.
The Italian-based magazine Bitter Winter, a publication produced by the Center for Studies on New Religion which covers human rights issues in China, reported earlier this month that authorities removed crosses from more than 250 state-sanctioned churches in Anhui province between January and April.
“All Christian symbols are ordered to be removed as part of the government’s crackdown campaign,” a provincial employee from Ma’anshan city was quoted as saying.
China’s crackdown on religion and religious minorities has drawn scrutiny from international actors such as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, rights groups, and the U.S. State Department.
Christians all around the world are all encouraged to pray for our brethren in China who are going through so much persecution today.
It is important this information get out — and that the US not overlook religious persecution in the interest of economic gain.