Christians come under attack in China - thestar.com
China’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but it comes with a catch: every church must register with the government and submit to control by the Communist Party of China.
The Gospel Shoes church was not registered: it was what is known in China as a “house church.”
The government maintains the same registration requirements for China’s four other “officially approved” religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam and Catholicism. Each is assigned a government-appointed body that oversees the group’s activities throughout the country.
But Gospel Shoes was operating without such oversight. As a consequence it was deemed illegal.
So over the course of the next few hours, under the direction of the Communist
Party and local police, the mob bulldozed the factory and church into the ground.
In the process they killed livestock, looted appliances and wounded 30 members of the community, seven seriously.
China’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but it comes with a catch: every church must register with the government and submit to control by the Communist Party of China.
The Gospel Shoes church was not registered: it was what is known in China as a “house church.”
The government maintains the same registration requirements for China’s four other “officially approved” religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam and Catholicism. Each is assigned a government-appointed body that oversees the group’s activities throughout the country.
But Gospel Shoes was operating without such oversight. As a consequence it was deemed illegal.
So over the course of the next few hours, under the direction of the Communist
Party and local police, the mob bulldozed the factory and church into the ground.
In the process they killed livestock, looted appliances and wounded 30 members of the community, seven seriously.
