“It is a political fear for the Communist Party, as the number of Christians in the country far outnumber the members of the party…”
By CFI Field Staff
With population of more than 1.3 billion people, China is the world’s most populous nation. Officially, Christians comprise just 5.1 percent of the population, but unofficially the number is much higher and is growing rapidly and this has the Communist Government worried.
The systematic, on-going persecution against Christians in China has been happening for decades. But there has been an increase in the persecution since the Xi administration came into power.
Even for China, it is unprecedented in its persecution against Christians. Church leaders are going to prison, are being sent to mental institutions, are being beaten and tortured, and crosses have been forcibly removed from now over 1,800 churches since 2014.
The persecution of Christians is a direct result of the policies that are coming out of the Central Communist Government..
Most observers believe that the underlying narrative to the increase of persecution is that the Church in China is growing at an unprecedented rate. Despite the government’s best effort to stop the growth of Christianity, China is on the way to become the largest Christian nation by 2030.
Christian Woman Buried Alive for Protesting
According to a report by China Aid from April of this year, a Christian house church leader and his wife were buried alive in China’s central Henan province for protesting against the government-ordered demolition of their church, and while the man managed to escape, his wife suffocated to death. China Aid reported on the grisly news, noting the tragedy occurred at Beitou Church in Zhumadian, Henan province.
Communist Government authorities reportedly ordered the demolition of the church after Li Jiangong, the person in charge of the church, and his wife, Ding Cuimei, refused to hand over the church grounds to a local developer. The husband and wife decided to try and stop the demolition and stepped in front of the bulldozing crew, but were purposefully shoved into a pit, where a bulldozer covered their bodies with soil.
“Crying for help, Li was able to dig his way free, but Ding suffocated before she could be rescued,” the report stated.
The two crew members responsible for the crime are said to have been detained by authorities, while a criminal investigation team from the public security bureau reviews their case.
According to China Aid, one of the demolition team members was heard shouting out the order “bury them alive for me. I will be responsible for their lives.”
China Aid President Bob Fu spoke about the vicious killing by saying, “bulldozing and burying alive Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was a cruel, murderous act.”
Fu added in a statement: “This case is a serious violation of the rights to life, religious freedom and rule of law. The Chinese authorities should immediately hold those murderers accountable and take concrete measures to protect the religious freedom of this house church’s members.”
Christianity Growing, Despite Persecution
Christians in China have been heavily targeted throughout the past couple of years by the ruling Communist Party due to their rapidly increasing numbers. Although Chinese officials claims that church demolitions and the forced removal of church rooftop crosses are connected with building code violations, human rights activists and other Christian leaders have said it is clear persecution against a religious group.
“The top leadership is increasingly worried about the rapid growth of Christian faith and their public presence, and their social influence,” Fu told The Christian Post.
“It is a political fear for the Communist Party, as the number of Christians in the country far outnumber the members of the party,” he added.
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