Closed churches in Lianyungang’s Guannan county turned into cultural and entertainment venues.
Note: Crosses removed from tops of church buildings.
(Photo: Bitter Winter)
(China —Nov. 15, 2020) On November 11, Worthy News reported the the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) continues to forcibly shut down churches and repurpose the buildings into entertainment halls, factories, or “cultural centers.” “For example,” Karen Faulkner, Worthy News correspondent, said; “a month after Shangrao City (Guangxin District) authorities closed one church for “organizing illegal gatherings” and refusing to join the Three-Self Church,* officials converted the building into a “Civilization Practice Station for a New Era.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) undertook the “Civilization Practice Station…” crusade in 2018 to propel citizens to abandon their faith and follow the CCP.
Furthermore, the CPP “has been removing the words ‘Christ’ and ‘Jesus’ from a number of publications and various social media platforms.” Faulkner also notes:
According to Bitter Winter, 70 Protestant church venues were shut down in Jiangsu Province’s prefecture-level cities of Lianyungang and Suqian last year. As part of this onslaught, the Chenzhuang Church building was sold for just $ 3,000. “The government is eradicating churches,” the Chenzhuang church director [said].In another example of the CPP’s crackdown, a church building in Suqian city was converted into a memorial hall for China’s revolutionary heroes. “The church will now be used to teach the young generation about China’s revolutionary spirit,” a village official told Bitter Winter.“People of faith outnumber Communist Party members, and the Party is not winning people’s hearts. …The government fears that this will bring instability. Churches are eradicated to ensure that there are more CCP members than believers.”
As the CPP continues to demolish and forcibly repurpose church buildings, the church congregation, “Believers,” gather in house churches… in homes of other believers and continue to be “the church.”
*State-sponsored
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