Source: Direct Reports from China
Date: June 30, 2018
Fifty-one crosses have been taken down from Christian sites of worship in the city of Gongyi, Henan Province from early June 2018, states the Special Operation Briefing, a copy of which Bitter Winter has received.
The briefing orders to replace crosses with bronze plaques made by the government as symbols of churches. The local government has set the taking down of crosses as an important indicator for evaluating towns’ and sub-district offices’ work on religions. To promote this work in areas that are too slow, it states that, “The municipal Housing and Construction, Planning, Security, Firefighting, and Urban Management Departments are required to work in turn to exert continuous pressure through non-religious means.”
The briefing also stressed the importance of strengthening the grasp on public opinion before carrying out any demolitions, stating, “In the process of demolition, strengthen overall management and control, minimize the number of believers on-site, and prevent onlookers from taking photos. In addition, carry out comprehensive monitoring and control of online public opinion.”
According to an analyst, this briefing reveals the tendency of the authorities’ current administration to use the demolition of crosses as a method of persecuting religious beliefs. A new phase of the persecution of Christianity has fully begun.
Special Operation Briefing issued by the Special Operation Office of the city of Gongyi
China is continuing a nationwide crackdown on rights activists, detaining lawyer Chang Weiping at an unknown location, while pressing “terrorism” charges against Zhang Baocheng, activists told RFA……
...
ADHRRF – On Feb. 1, around a hundred people gathered near the Sydney Town Hall Square to call on attention to groups persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) including Uyghurs and Christians. Some participant said Xi Jinping is a murderer and terrorist much worse than Hitler.
...
As Bitter Winter reported last week, the religious persecution in the eastern province of Shandong is escalating. In preparation for a visit from the central religious inspection team, local governments across the province have dismantled crosses, demolished temples, and vigorously cracked down on house churches. The recently received information indicates that the investigation of and control over religious venues and religious believers throughout the province is becoming more severe, paving a way to even more intense suppressions.
...
False accusations of “fraud” led the popular Christian leader to be hit with a record-high sentence. by Dong Quiyue “Bitter Winter” reported on June
...
