China Intensifying Persecution of Christians in Underground Churches
Elizabeth Delaney
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By Elizabeth Delaney, Crosswalk.com
Throwing Christians and Christian leaders in the underground Zion Church into prison was apparently only the beginning for the Chinese government. They’re now also after lawyers who attempt to help them. Attorney Zhang Kai had his license for practicing law revoked by the Chinese government, and several other attorneys had their licenses suspended or were warned verbally about their involvement, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Chinese Government Wants to Control What Churches Teach and Their Activities
China claims to offer religious freedom in their constitution, but that’s really only in connection to churches that are registered with the government. Then the government controls what is said and what people in those churches do in connection to religion.
“We feel deeply that this is an open defiance and trampling of justice and the rule of law,” representatives of Zion Church said in a recent letter obtained by China Aid.
Grace Jin, the pastor’s daughter, laments that trying to learn what’s happening with her father may be more complicated now because of how the Chinese government is treating the attorneys, according to The Christian Post.
Pastor Jin became a Christian as a result of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. He’s a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in California, and has been a primary leader in China’s house church movement.
There are 18 people who are a part of Zion Church who have been arrested and are being held in a Chinese detention center in the south. This is the first step in prosecuting them and potentially keeping them in prison for three years, according to U.S. Congressman Chris Smith’s website.
U.S. Experts Warn Congress to View Persecution as National Security Threat
A coalition of experts have warned the U.S. Congress that China’s intensification of persecuting Christians needs to be viewed as a national security threat to the entire United States.
Former Kansas Governor and ambassador-at-large Sam Brownback also said that he sees China’s intensifying Christian persecution as something that should be treated as a national security issue.
“China is at war with faith, and it is at war with us. We should unequivocally and clearly be on the side of their opponents. China fears religious freedom more than they fear our aircraft carriers or our nuclear weapons,” Brownback said during a Congressional-Executive Commission on China, as reported by U.S. Congressman Chris Smith’s website.
“If the world’s largest authoritarian state can eradicate religious freedom without consequences, it undermines the authority of America’s founding values and global leadership,” Brownback added.
Grace Jin testified during the joint committee that the Chinese government’s persecution followed her and her mother to America. Jin said her mom was contacted by someone impersonating a United States agent, and the Chinese government watches and follows Grace Jin as she goes about her day in Washington.
In an interview with ABC News Australia, reporter Max Walden was asked why he thought China was threatened by Christianity. Walden said that the present government is really atheist, and that faith groups that aren’t registered with the Chinese government are seen as a “national security threat.” He went on to note that there are approximately 90 million Christians believed to be in China, and that number is about the same number as the entire Chinese communist party. The Chinese government doesn’t want to risk that these groups could mobilize against it and overthrow it. When relations are strained between China and another government, such as the United States, China tends to crack down on unregistered religious groups.
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Elizabeth Delaney has been a freelance content writer for over 20 years and has enjoyed having her prose published in both the non-fiction and fiction markets. She has written various types of content, including Christian articles, healthy lifestyle, blog posts, business topics, news articles, product descriptions, and some fiction. She is also a singer-songwriter-musician. When she is not busy with writing or music, she enjoys spending time with friends or family and doing fun social activities such as hiking, swing dancing, concerts, and other activities.
