Members of the Shouwang house church continue to face harassment from Beijing authorities. Most recently, security officials denied the church’s student group access to two sports facilities in Beijing. The 1,000-plus members of the Shouwang Church have been meeting outdoors for 14 months, in protest against officials who have prevented them from purchasing or renting facilities for a worship space.
The student group met on Saturday morning, June 16, to play basketball on the campus of the Beijing Institute of Technology, just as they had been for some time. But when they arrived at the court, they were surprised to find it closed. They moved on to the gymnasium at Beijing Normal University, but soon after their arrival that basketball court was also closed. That’s when they noticed they were being followed by security agents.
Since they couldn’t play basketball, the group decided instead to play a kicking game on an open grass space. Almost immediately, campus security guards approached to stop them. They surrounded the Christians and seized a banner they were carrying, which read “Shouwang Youth Fellowship vs. Student Fellowship Basketball Game.” The students resisted and reported the incident to police, but the police simply confiscated the banner.
Eight members of the youth group went to the police station to retrieve the banner, but police refused to return it. Instead, they questioned the young people at length and recorded their answers. The eight were then escorted home by police officers from their respective neighborhood precincts. The final detainee wasn’t able to return home until 11 p.m.
The following morning, Shouwang Church members arrived as usual at their outdoor worship location in Beijing’s Haidian district, and, as usual, several were detained by police for questioning.
Shouwang expects to continue meeting outdoors, even through the hot summer months.
Source: China Aid Association
