Fresh report calls the attention to increased levels of Christian persecution in China
Christians in China face severe pressure to conform to the CCP, as well as litigation, church demolitions, harrassement, and more.
A new report from ChinaAid, a non-governmental Christian non-profit that focuses on human rights abuses and religious freedom in China, is drawing attention to increased levels of persecution in the Asian nation. The data present a variety of forms of persecution, including sinicization, educational reforms, and widespread rights abuses, while highlighting how the laws of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have tightened in the last year.
ChinaAid released the 63-page document, the Annual Persecution Report 2022, on February 14. The report notes that government pressure on Christian churches and faithful to yield to political ideology has made them hesitant to expose their plight to the rest of the world. As China’s efforts to sinicize – transform the faith to become more in line with Chinese culture – intensify, those in opposition face heightened persecution.
According to UCANews, critics of the CCP have been quick to denounce the policy of sinicization in China. Wang Yang, a Political Bureau member of the CCP, summed up the policy at a January 27 symposium, in Beijing:
Wang stated that “religious groups should unite the majority of religious adherents around the CCP and government to forge a “positive energy” to help realize the “Chinese Dream.”
Wang went on to urge faith leaders to stay on the “correct political path” and ardently support the CCP. His further comments suggest that the CCP is turning to the tactic for fear of “infiltration of overseas forces,” further suggesting that the country views the Christian faith as a force of cultural invasion, to some extent.
Source: Aleteia