House Church Closed in Anhui

On November 26, a house church in Laodong Xincui, Tongling City, Anhui Province was closed by the government. The leaders were told to join the local Three-Self Church.

The house church was founded 53 years ago by renowned Brother Wang Xingquan who was imprisoned for his faith during the cultural- revolution. The nearly 200 members are under supervision from the local Religious Affair Bureau which is intimidating and exerting pressure on them.

“The employers of Brother Wang Xingquan’s daughter have stopped paying her salary and threatened to fire her if she does not set an example and join the local Three-Self Church. The government is resorting to administrative methods to interfere with religious affairs. This ultimately tramples the spirit and promise of religious freedom stipulated in the Chinese Constitution and International Law,” said Bob Fu, President of China Aid Association.

He added that four Christian brothers , from Yili City in the Xinjiang province, who were imprisoned for 32 days, between October and November this year, were admitted into the hospital after being tortured by other prisoners. “I was beaten daily; morning, noon and night! They just beat me for no reason,” one brother said. The police officers gave the other prisoners permission to beat the Christians. Pray for our brothers and sisters in China who are being persecuted for their belief in Christ.