Chinese Christians released after raid on bible school
-03/03/06
Chinese Christians released after raid on bible school
-03/03/06
36 people arrested in a raid on a bible school run by an underground Protestant church in China have been released.
The China Aid Association (CAA) reports that they were released in the evening of the same day of the raid.
However, 10,000 copies of the confiscated Christian literature were not returned. Instead, they were given to a political committee, which will rule whether or not they are ìillegal literature.î
The 36 were arrested in a raid on a bible school run by an underground Protestant church amid a nationwide crackdown on Christians worshipping outside Communist Party control.
About 50 officers armed with electric cattle prods and backed by more than 10 police vehicles surrounded the school in the eastern province of Anhui.
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Those inside ó including students, teachers, and leaders of the underground church ó were taken away in police vans, the group said.
ìThese illegal mass arrests and detentions is a very disturbing indication of the deteriorating condition of religious freedom and civil liberties in China,î said Bob Fu of CAA. ìWe demand that the Chinese government honour their international obligations to respect and protect the religious freedoms and civil liberties of the Chinese citizens.î
The reported crackdown comes after the adoption of new rules on religious organisations. China allows worship only in the official Three Self Patriotic Movement, set up after the expulsion of foreign missionaries and church leaders after the 1949 revolution. The party retains final say on the groupís finances, leadership and doctrinal issues. A similar organisation controls the Catholic church.
Protestant Christians are said officially to number around 16-17 million. Researchers suggest the real number is more likely to be around 50-70 million. There are about 12 million Catholics.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is amongst those who has urged China to move toward religious freedom and think about political reforms to match its economic opening.
The late 1980s saw a hardening of Chinese government policy towards religions as a reaction to the collapse of Eastern Europe and the Tiananmen Square incident churches in the UK were recently told.
Millions of Protestants worship in unregistered groups, often called house churches because they meet in private homes to avoid detection.
A newly-appointed Cardinal recently warned China that he would continue to speak out about China’s human rights abuses.
At the end of last year, the Vatican protested strongly against the arrest and beating of Roman Catholic nuns which led to 600 Christians taking to the streets to demonstrate in Xian City, north west China.
Chinese Christians released after raid on bible school
-03/03/06
36 people arrested in a raid on a bible school run by an underground Protestant church in China have been released.
The China Aid Association (CAA) reports that they were released in the evening of the same day of the raid.
However, 10,000 copies of the confiscated Christian literature were not returned. Instead, they were given to a political committee, which will rule whether or not they are ìillegal literature.î
The 36 were arrested in a raid on a bible school run by an underground Protestant church amid a nationwide crackdown on Christians worshipping outside Communist Party control.
About 50 officers armed with electric cattle prods and backed by more than 10 police vehicles surrounded the school in the eastern province of Anhui.
Related Articles
Those inside ó including students, teachers, and leaders of the underground church ó were taken away in police vans, the group said.
ìThese illegal mass arrests and detentions is a very disturbing indication of the deteriorating condition of religious freedom and civil liberties in China,î said Bob Fu of CAA. ìWe demand that the Chinese government honour their international obligations to respect and protect the religious freedoms and civil liberties of the Chinese citizens.î
The reported crackdown comes after the adoption of new rules on religious organisations. China allows worship only in the official Three Self Patriotic Movement, set up after the expulsion of foreign missionaries and church leaders after the 1949 revolution. The party retains final say on the groupís finances, leadership and doctrinal issues. A similar organisation controls the Catholic church.
Protestant Christians are said officially to number around 16-17 million. Researchers suggest the real number is more likely to be around 50-70 million. There are about 12 million Catholics.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is amongst those who has urged China to move toward religious freedom and think about political reforms to match its economic opening.
The late 1980s saw a hardening of Chinese government policy towards religions as a reaction to the collapse of Eastern Europe and the Tiananmen Square incident churches in the UK were recently told.
Millions of Protestants worship in unregistered groups, often called house churches because they meet in private homes to avoid detection.
A newly-appointed Cardinal recently warned China that he would continue to speak out about China’s human rights abuses.
At the end of last year, the Vatican protested strongly against the arrest and beating of Roman Catholic nuns which led to 600 Christians taking to the streets to demonstrate in Xian City, north west China.