China continues its crackdown against ethnic minorities
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Ethnic oppression
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ultimate control over church affairs, says a church member in Linfen, Shanxi province. Christians and ethnic minorities in China have been witnessing Beijing's heavy-handed rule. For years, nationwide crackdown on churches has been continuing by the Beijing authorities.
2/5
Orwellian nightmare
According to a report published by the Barnabanfund, the new Template for a Charter of Legal Persons in Religious Activity Venues, which came into effect in April 2019, demands that all religious venues establish a "democratic management committee" consisting of "clergy members, representatives of religious citizens, and other relevant members".
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Control through other means
The "other relevant members" section allows the CCP officials to become committee members and have reins over the decisions.
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4/5
Fearful congregation
"If we don't follow the Template, our church will be shut down," a clergy member from a "three-self" church in Tengzhou, Shandong province was quoted as saying.
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Big brother is watching
Till now, hundreds of "house churches" (unregistered congregations) and "three-self" churches have been forcibly shut down. The Beijing authorities have used repressive measures like violent police raids, thousands of arrests and detentions, imprisonment of pastors, and forced installation of surveillance cameras inside some churches, Barnabanfund reported.