Zhejiang’s Anti-Church Campaign Spreading to Neighbor Province in China
ICC Note:
Not long after the anti-church campaign took place in Zhejiang Province, the neighbor province Anhui started to force house churches to register with the government, in order to eliminate churches outside the government-sanctioned system. Local believers expressed the concerns that police may continue to harass church gathering or church leaders even after registration.
Anhui House Churches Forced to Register Information with Local Bureau of Religion
05/27/2014 China (ChinaAid)- Local bureaus of religion in China’s eastern Anhui province told house churches on May 27 that they are required to register their church with the government. Christians speculate that the forced registration is a move to gain control over house churches, eliminating churches outside of the government-sanctioned system.
Anhui Christians reported that many house churches across Anhui were asked to register their information. China Aid spoke to two house churches in Chuzhou, Anhui, about the demand.
“The government came to [a church nearby] and asked them to book their information,” said Pastor Lu, who preaches at a house church in Mingguang, Chuzhou, of a 200-member house church in Fengyang County, Chuzhou. “Because their church was built only last year, the government demanded that they register the information. The government gave them a form. The leader of the church worries that after the information of the church in registered, the church may not survive.”
“The form asks for the name of the church, how many people come to the gatherings, the person in charge and the organizers,” Sister Xing, a member of the house church in Fengyang County, said. The form is called the “Registration Form of Basic Information of House Churches.”
“[We were told] the county government held a meeting and said our church is not the only gathering site required to register their information,” Xing said. “Now, our gathering site has been [registered]. In the future, if the government really affects our gatherings or doesn’t allow us to gather, we won’t agree.”
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