Persecution of Christians in China: There are no checks on the power of the Chinese government within China, and this Orwellian measure is a telling indication of that. The Chinese government has for quite some time been acting against expressions of the Christian faith and Christians themselves. They are attempting to create a form of Christianity with “Chinese characteristics” is a matter of grave concern also for all the Christians of the country, including the tiny community of Orthodox Christians in China. In this environment, the Orthodox churches in China could be closed at any time at the whim of local officials, and Orthodox Christians taken into custody.
China offers yet another instance of the persecution of Christians by governing officials that is unfortunately on the increase not only in China, but in all too many other nations around the world.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in China, see here.
“Surveillance Devices Planted in Believers’ Homes,” by Lu Xiu, Bitter Winter, September 29, 2020:
After a member of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) from the eastern province of Zhejiang was released from prison in late 2018, where [she] served time for her faith, she didn’t dare contact her fellow believers. She was even afraid to say hello to them on the street, knowing that she was under constant surveillance.
“I fear it would endanger them,” the believer explained.
One day in March 2019, she noticed two men installing a new camera by the entrance to her house. This was the fourth one installed there.
The police had asked the believer’s mother to persuade her daughter to give up her faith, but she refused, telling them that “there’s no fault in believing in God.” She, too, was suspected of being a Church member and was targeted for investigation and surveillance.
Soon after, the mother found a listening device installed behind a washing machine at home. A few days later, she discovered a micro camera in the garage. When the mother was taken in for interrogation, police officers played a recording of her saying that she was being surveilled at home.
A 19-year-old CAG member was forced to flee home two years ago. In August 2018, the police arrested his father, also a CAG member, and interrogated him for 36 hours nonstop to get information about his wife, son, and sister who were out of town on Church matters.
Though under constant surveillance, the father managed to warn his family members not to return home. Police officers regularly visit him at home, demanding to know where his son, sister, and wife are. He is required to keep his cellphone on 24 hours a day. A tracking device was installed on his scooter and a high-definition camera at the only entrance to his residential community.
Having learned that his father was under strict surveillance, the son removed the SIM card from his phone and logged off his accounts on WeChat and QQ, China’s two most popular messaging platforms. He is afraid to contact his relatives and friends….
