{"id":27199,"date":"2018-02-06T07:22:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T07:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=27199"},"modified":"2018-02-06T07:22:29","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T07:22:29","slug":"china-christians-fear-intimidation-new-regulations-implemented-week-acn-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2018\/02\/06\/china-christians-fear-intimidation-new-regulations-implemented-week-acn-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week-ACN Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>CHINA<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The destruction of a Protestant megachurch in Linfen, where more than 50,000 Christians worshipped, and the demolition of a Catholic village church in Shaanxi, may foretell a deeper crisis for Christianity in China. Many Christians think the demolition of the two churches could be linked to a revised set of \u201cRegulations on Religious Affairs,\u201d which came into effect at the beginning of February. They fear the demolitions could be the sign of a nationwide drive to tighten state control over religious life in China.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The new laws are part of President Xi Jinping\u2019s broader campaign to boost national security and resist what the authorities see as the \u201cforeign infiltration\u201d of religions in China. The regulations say that religious groups should \u00a0\u201cpractice the core socialist values\u201d and must not \u201cendanger national security\u201d or harm state interests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Since President Xi came to power in late 2012, he has repeatedly warned about \u201cunprecedented security risks\u201d and said that national security must be under \u201cthe absolute leadership of the Communist Party.\u201d According to a state publication, socialism\u2019s \u201ccore values\u201d and Chinese culture should guide religions in China, and people should \u201csafeguard against the infiltration of Western ideology.\u201d In 2014, a report published by a government think tank said \u201cthe Western hostile forces\u2019 infiltration in the Chinese religious sector had become more comprehensive and widespread\u201d and has the ability to \u201cincite and deceive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, Christians fear the new regulations have emboldened lower-level officials to &#8220;act tough&#8221; as they are now allowed to oversee the activities of China\u2019s religious communities\u2014a move expected to lead to intensified harassment of Christians and churches. Under the new regulations, officials can impose large fines on unsanctioned activities. For example, organizers of unapproved overseas trips for Christians to attend conferences or even papal Masses could be fined up to $30,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Xu Yonghai, the leader of an unregistered \u201chouse\u201d church in Beijing, said he is expecting more state harassment. Mr Xu and other members of the Holy Love Christian Fellowship have been imprisoned the past for \u201cendangering state security\u201d by documenting the destruction of house churches in Hangzhou or trying to hold a Bible study. Mr Xu says that police still question him and interrupt his church\u2019s meetings from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThe room for religious belief is definitely narrowing,\u201d Xu said. \u201cWe Christians have to be prepared to follow in our predecessors\u2019 footsteps of the 1950s,\u201d referring to the Mao-era persecution of Chinese Christians. When the Communist Party took power in 1949, Chinese churches were forced to sever links with foreign Christian churches and join state-sanctioned \u201cpatriotic\u201d churches or face prosecutions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Amnesty International described the new rules as \u201cdraconian\u201d and warned that officials may increase persecution of those practising their religious beliefs outside of officially sanctioned organizations or churches. This could include banning certain religious activities and imposing financial penalties on religious organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Professor Ying Fuk Tsang, director of the divinity school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes the government is increasing its control of religious activities because it regards the growth of Christianity in China as \u201ctoo fast and too heated.\u201d China had an estimated 58 million Protestants and 9 million Catholics in 2010, according to the 2011 Report of Global Christianity. By 2030, the total Christian population, including both Protestants and Catholics, could exceed 247 million, making it one of the largest in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0Last week, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Emeritus of Hong Kong, wrote on Facebook: \u201cSo, do I think that the Vatican is selling out the Catholic Church in China? Yes, definitely, if they go in the direction which is obvious from all what they are doing in recent years and months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, denied recent allegations of the Pope and Vatican\u2019s treatment of the Catholic Church in China. e responded with a statement denouncing the\u00a0widespread news on a presumed difference of thought and action between the Holy Father and his collaborators in the Roman Curia on issues relating to China.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<em><strong>ACN Malta<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHINA Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week The destruction of a Protestant megachurch in Linfen, where more than 50,000 Christians worshipped, and the demolition of a Catholic village church in Shaanxi, may foretell a deeper crisis for Christianity in China. Many Christians think the demolition of the two churches could be&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CHINA: Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week-ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2018\/02\/06\/china-christians-fear-intimidation-new-regulations-implemented-week-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CHINA: Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week-ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHINA Christians fear intimidation as new regulations are implemented this week The destruction of a Protestant megachurch in Linfen, where more than 50,000 Christians worshipped, and the demolition of a Catholic village church in Shaanxi, may foretell a deeper crisis for Christianity in China. 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