Chinese officials forcibly removed the crosses from more than 250 churches in one region early this year even though the congregations are registered with the government and are legal, according to a new report.
Religious liberty watchdog Bitter Winter says from January through April, crosses were removed from at least 250 Three-Self churches in the eastern province of Anhui. Unlike illegal house churches, Three-Self churches are members of a government-recognized Protestant body.
On April 1, 10 government officials in Anhui’s Fuyang city approached Gulou Church with the goal of overseeing the removal of the building’s cross but were blocked by more than 100 members, Bitter Winter reported. Despite the bold effort of the Christians, the cross was removed the next morning. The congregation is 124 years old.
Church officials said they were told all religious symbols – including Christian, Islamic and Buddhist – must be removed across the country.
“We support the state and comply with its regulations,” a congregation member told Bitter Winter. “We can have a dialogue with the government if it thinks that we have done something wrong, but they can’t persecute us this way. Officials did not show any documents, fearing that people would implicate them with anything in writing. They only conveyed verbal orders and forced us to obey them.”
In one county in Anhui province,…
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