According to statistics from the Overseas Human Rights Network, 42 Christian (including Catholic) pastors and co-workers remain in detention, with nearly ten of them sentenced to more than ten years.
After Xi Jinping came to power, the space for religious freedom in China has shrunk. Large, influential churches with many believers, such as the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi, have been destroyed and demolished under various pretexts. Pastor Wang Yi and other co-workers and core believers of the Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church have been arrested. The Shengjia House Church in Shunde, Guangdong was attacked, and preacher Deng Yanxiang was arrested and sentenced.
The Human Rights Defenders Network noted that nearly ten of the 42 detainees were sentenced to more than ten years. Gong Shengliang, a Hubei native and founder of the South China Church (SCC), was sentenced to life imprisonment and was tortured in prison, leaving him on the verge of death. He was released last October but has been placed under house arrest, barred from leaving the church and from visits, and has not been able to return home to date. His South China Church, with over 50,000 members, rejects the CCP's arbitrary control over religious belief.
The Human Rights Network noted that the charges range from suspected "cults," "illegal business operations," "embezzlement," "gathering a crowd to disrupt social order," "inciting subversion of state power," and "organizing illegal border crossings" to current charges of "illegal business operations" and "fraud." These "pocket charges" have forced many house churches to be unable to gather in groups, resulting in severe persecution.
Chinese Christians are often convicted of "illegal business operations" and "fraud"
Chen Pokong, a current affairs commentator living in the United States, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on the 21st that the human rights network's statistics are probably just a list of celebrities and representatives, and there must be more believers who have been arrested but are unknown to the outside world.
Chen Pokong mentioned that Xi Jinping has been promoting the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong Thought, and his anti-religious stance has reached an extreme. When his confidant Xia Baolong was the Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, he specialized in destroying churches and demolishing crosses. After being commended by Xi Jinping, he was sent to Hong Kong to serve as the Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to persecute Hong Kong people and implement the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law.
Chen Pokong also pointed out that Xi Jinping's demolition of mosques and moon-shaped symbols in Xinjiang is a blatant provocation and blasphemy against Muslims. He has also demolished and closed temples in the Greater Tibet region, a repeat of the suppression of religion during the Cultural Revolution.
Zhang Jialin, an adjunct professor of diplomacy at Tamkang University in Taiwan, also stated in an interview with Radio Free Asia on the 21st that the Human Rights Defenders Network's count is likely incomplete and will not be officially released. Of the 42 individuals arrested, 41 are Christians, with only one being a Catholic bishop. The arrested Christian pastors, elders, preachers, and believers from various churches in China include some with ties to church organizations, Presbyterian churches, or spiritual churches.
Zhang Jialin gave an example: "There are a myriad of legal charges, such as illegal business operations and fraud. Xi Jinping requires all police officers to identify legal provisions when handling illegal activities of underground churches. As long as someone reports it, underground church gatherings will be disrupted and the leaders arrested. This involves the freedom of belief in collective gatherings, as well as the arrest and sentencing of pastors and preachers, and the deprivation of their personal freedom to preach."
Zhang Jialin mentioned that in the past, the CCP turned a blind eye to the underground church. After Xi Jinping came to power, religious control became stricter. Since 2018, China and the Vatican signed an agreement on the temporary appointment of bishops. The then late Pope Francis wrote to underground Catholics in Chinese dioceses, asking them to go aboveground and join the so-called patriotic church. The underground Catholic church has been cleansed quite thoroughly in the years since Xi Jinping came to power.
The atheist CCP's so-called "Three-Self Church" aims to transcend religion.
Zhang Jialin also pointed out that Xi Jinping believes that Taoism, Buddhism, and folk beliefs are "indigenous" religions that are more supportive of the regime's rule and are relatively relaxed.
Zhang Jialin said: "Unlike underground churches that hold services in hiding, the outside world cannot tell whether they support Xi Jinping's rule. Xi Jinping's policy of sinicizing religion requires love for the Party, love for the country, love for the Chinese nation, and love for socialism. National values take precedence over religious freedom."
Zhang Jialin uses two UN standards to view the CCP's persecution of Christians: one is that individuals are arrested for their faith and the spread of their faith; the other is the government's encirclement and suppression of churches, cutting off water and electricity, investigating and closing them down.
Chen Pokong pointed out that the CCP, which claims to have originated as an "atheist" party, is the enemy of God and the enemy of all gods. Having an atheist lead a religion is blasphemy. The CCP is hostile to all religions, but religion has a strong influence in the world, which the CCP fears, so it promotes the so-called Three-Self Church and the Sinicization of religion. Under Communist Party rule, the Party leads everything. Even slogans like "Without the Communist Party, there would be no Tathagata Buddha" appeared in Henan, a joke.
Chen Pokong noted that the CCP defines "cult" as such, and outsiders view the CCP as a cult. The CCP, feeling guilty, tries to avoid ideological convictions, but struggles to justify its claims and fears offending religious organizations. In recent years, they have arrested people on charges of so-called public order crimes, illegal business operations, fraud, and other crimes. They are like the fake foreign devils in Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q," who only allow their own beliefs, not others; they only allow themselves to rebel, not others.
Chen Pokong noted that Xi Jinping is an atheist, while his wife, Peng Liyuan, worships Buddha in a large courtyard in Xi'an, suggesting the Communist Party has a split personality. Buddhist temples in China have become secularized, with some abbots maintaining mistresses, amassing vast fortunes, driving luxury cars, and leading extravagant and promiscuous lives.
Xi Jinping's visit to Luoyang is seen as a sign of political instability and decline.
Recently, Xi Jinping visited Luoyang City, Henan Province for investigation and research. According to official media reports, Xi Jinping visited the White Horse Temple and Longmen Grottoes to learn about the protection and utilization of historical and cultural heritage.
Chen Pokong noted that this was at least the second time Xi Jinping had visited the Longmen Grottoes and the White Horse Temple. He was facing a political power crisis, so visiting temples to worship Buddha was both incredibly superstitious and ironic. If China had remained unified and not divided into the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism would not have been introduced. These religions are all imported, what the CCP calls "foreign forces."
Chen Pokong said that the buildings Xi Jinping claimed he wanted to protect were all fakes, including the White Horse Temple, Longmen Grottoes, the Confucius Temple, and the Yellow Emperor Temple, which were destroyed by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution. What we see now are all rebuilt buildings.
Chen Pokong also said, "His (Xi Jinping) trip this time probably has political reasons. Luoyang symbolizes the setting sun. Mao never went to Luoyang in his life, calling himself the Red Sun and the Leader, which was taboo. Just like Jiang Zemin, who is from Jiangsu, didn't go to Zhenjiang, because he superstitiously believed he would be "Zhenjiang." Xi Jinping's trip to Luoyang this time is unlucky. He wants to rule for life and become another Red Sun after Mao, but his trip to Luoyang means it's almost time, the sun is setting, and it's time to close up shop."
Chen Pokong said that Xi Jinping is afraid of death and will never go when there is a flood. He will only go when the weather is fine and there is no problem.
Chen Pokong said that when former Catholic Pope Francis was alive, he thought that his compromise would allow him to preach in China, but as pro-communist and pro-China as he was, his wish was not fulfilled until his death. He danced with atheism and the devil, and there was nothing to talk about. We should remember this painful lesson.
