ICC Note: We have seen yet another tactic from within the CCP’s persecution arsenal – revoking welfare from Chinese Christians without giving any cause whatsoever other than that they are practicing Christians. There has been considerable disparity observed between the rigid treatment of Christians in some areas of China and extremely severe treatment in other areas, so it is probably true that more Christians than not elsewhere in China still receive the welfare they are supposed to receive. But this action by the local government in Guizhou represents a much bigger issue in Chinese government – arbitrariness, unlawfulness, and lack of accountability in government decision making. Chinese Christians can never assume that their constitutional rights will be respected because of how volatile the CCP has shown itself to act towards them. 

8/10/2016 Zunyi, Guizhou, China (China Aid) – A local governing body in China’s central Guizhou province announced the termination of welfare for Christians who attend church activities on July 2, mirroring a similar incident that occurred two years prior.

Mou, a house church member, said, “[Officials verbally] announced on July 2 that Christians could not have welfare or any old-age insurance … Now, the county [government] called on the government in the towns and villages to order believers to sign [a guarantee], stating that if they gathered again, their welfare would be cut off.”

This kind of pressure is reminiscent of an ongoing persecution case in China’s inland Sichuan province. On Sept. 28, 2014, 36 Miao Christians, an ethnic minority in China, were detained and then individually released 5-11 days afterward. Since that time, the government interrupted their welfare payments.