China's Ruthless Crackdown and War on Christians Increasing

Authorities in Guangdong province have closed down churches and arrested at least 10 leaders of underground Christian groups, an international advocacy group reported on Wednesday. The arrests come amid tightening controls on unauthorised religious activities throughout the country, coinciding with a campaign against the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.

''We must emphasize strengthening management of religious affairs within the law,'' the official Guangming Daily newspaper proclaimed on Wednesday in a lengthy front-page commentary.

Worship has been stopped and members of independent churches arrested in a number of small Guangdong communities, including Lixi, Tianwei, Fogang, Xiangshan, Huadu, Pingshan and Xinhua, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which is based in England.

An official of Guangdong's Religious Affairs Bureau confirmed that an annual investigation of local religious groups was underway.

''Unregistered or illegal groups may be punished according to the relevant regulations,'' said the official, who refused to give his name. He declined to give further details.

Officials of the Religious Affairs Bureau in Beijing said they were not aware of any arrests and declined comment.

Although the mainland's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the officially atheist Communist Party requires that all worship take place within state- sanctioned organisations. Unauthorised groups often meet surreptitiously in homes.

Underground religious movements have thrived in many areas and have proved especially difficult to control in provinces like Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide said the arrests in Guangdong were part of a seven-month-old intimidation campaign that began with the demolition of a popular underground church in Huadu.

The leader of that congregation, a popular Christian minister named Li Dexian, has been arrested 14 times since October and at one point was tortured with his ankles and wrists chained together, forcing him into a stooped position for five days straight, it said.

After his latest detention, Li was released but he remains under surveillance at home.

Police also sealed up the building where the Huadu congregation met, welding it shut with iron bars. The owner was detained but later released, the group said.

''These arrests are part of a downward turn in China's record on religious freedom. At a time when China is under close scrutiny, it is disturbing to see authorities embarking on such an overt campaign of intimidation and persecution of religious believers,'' Mervyn Thomas, executive director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said in a statement.

The tighter controls on unauthorised groups like Falun Gong and underground Christians reflect communist leaders' fears of challenges to their power. The Guangming Daily commentary voiced suspicions that foreign countries might use religion to inflame separatist sentiment, especially in restive areas like Tibet and Xinjiang, where indigenous Buddhist and Muslim populations chafe under Beijing's rule.
 

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