Members of religious communities in China are being called on by officials to donate to coronavirus relief funds or else they cannot reopen following lockdowns over the coronavirus.
According to a report by Bitter Winter, a Three-Self church director from Heze, a prefecture-level city in the eastern province of Shandong, explained that state-run churches were urged to collect money for areas affected by COVID-19.
Additionally, officials from the local Religious Affairs Bureau threatened numerous church closures if its members failed to donate.
In February, Three-Self churches were told by officials in Zhangcun town to make donations ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 RMB (between $ 560 and $1,400). In the county of Xianju, members of Three-Self churches were ordered to donate 100 RMB (about $14) to Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Churchgoers in Zhejiang’s Hangzhou city were also forced to donate,” a Three-Self church director from the city said. “Some elderly congregation members live alone and have no sources of income, but are also forced to give money.”
It was reported by China’s official media that the Two Chinese Christian Councils of Shanghai Municipality donated $420,000 towards COVID-19 affected areas.
Buddhist temples were also subjected to forced donations to the state in order to reopen. Some of its members ended up selling food as…
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