In a video released by ChinaAid, Chinese government officials appeared to raid a church service in the Fujian province of China.
The video showed officers dragging a man away from the other church attendees while the church members tried to help the man, CBN News reports.
“In a video taken at the scene, officers and attendees of Xingguang Church shout as they engage in a physical altercation,” ChinaAid said in a statement. “As they block the entrance, officials drag a Christian to the door, with other congregants fighting along with him."
It’s unclear why the officials apprehended the man, and ChinaAid says it is expecting more information.
This is the latest persecution and violence against Christians in the country. In April, a Protestant pastor was arrested in China and charged with “subversion.” Police raided Zhao Huaiguo’s home and arrested him.
Zhao’s wife says she thinks police detained her husband because “he had posted or forwarded something from overseas to do with the coronavirus epidemic.”
Zhao’s church, the Bethel Church in Cili, is not affiliated with the state-mandated denomination, the Three-Self Patriotic Association.
A 2020 report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says China is one of the worse places for religious freedom.
The USCIRF report, released on April 28, said that "the state of religious freedom in China has continued to deteriorate"
According to UCA News, many Christians in China are forced to sign a declaration rejecting their beliefs or face the threat of being denied government benefits.
Reports also show that authorities have raided or seized hundreds of Christian house churches in China.
In 2018, officials raided the Autumn Rain Covenant Church, also known as the Early Rain Covenant Church, and detained many of its members. The congregants were released in December 2018, but its priest, Rev. Wang Yi, was charged with “subversion of state power” and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Photo courtesy: ©Liam Read/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
