China continues crackdown on house churches
There has been another case of persecution against house church members in China as the country gears up for the Beijing Olympics. The China Aid Association (CAA) was told through an informant that a house church missionary in the Heilongjiang province was intercepted by more than 20 government officers and policemen as he made his way to a worship service.
Daniel Burton of the CAA says there is a marked increase in persecution against underground house church leaders and members as the Olympics draw near. “There was an initiative by the Chinese government to pretty much eradicate the house church movement before the Olympics,” he contends. “And we’re seeing effects of that throughout China, even in this northernmost province….”
CAA is encouraging concerned Christians worldwide to contact the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, to protest the crackdown on house churches. According to Burton, officials at the embassy turn off their fax machine and put their phones on hold every time the CAA puts out a press release because they cannot handle the amount of calls. “So we get their attention,” he notes, “and every time we do this they are forced to find out what’s going on and respond to it because of the media’s action and questioning.”
(Source: OneNewsNow.com)
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