They hate you because of me - I just received this press release from ChinaAid. During our relatively comfortable Christmas season here in the West I think it's worth reading and pondering. The emphasis in the article is added by me.
ChinaAid
Media Contact: Katherine Cason (267) 210-8278 or Katherine@ChinaAid.org
Washington, D.C. Contact: Jenny McCloy (202) 213-0506 or Jenny@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org and www.MonitorChina.org
Fax: (432) 686-8355
Media Contact: Katherine Cason (267) 210-8278 or Katherine@ChinaAid.org
Washington, D.C. Contact: Jenny McCloy (202) 213-0506 or Jenny@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org and www.MonitorChina.org
Fax: (432) 686-8355
December 22, 2008
JIANGSU
– The morning of December 17, 2008, police officers, together with
nearly a thousand unidentified people, led by government officials from
Yancheng city, Jiangsu province and real estate developers, forcibly
demolished the Chengnan Christian Church of Tinghu District. The
destruction of this registered church came less than 24 hours after the
church won a court case protecting their building against the same
individuals who attacked it. The mob took away property belonging to
the church and beat more than10 Christians. Contacts report that the
destruction was the result of government officials and powerful
businessmen working in collusion to obtain the coveted church property
by force.
On
December 24, 1999, Chengnan Christian Church of Tinghu District was
formally established upon review, approval and registration by Yancheng
Municipal People’s Government. In order to construct a church building
which would accommodate a congregation of 800, the church obtained a
loan and the Christians enthusiastically donated personal funds for
four years.
On
June 12, 2003, the congregation bought four mu (about 0.66 acres) of
land for the church building. The construction of the church building
started in April 2004, and was completed in February 2005. On March 11,
2005, the church members began Sunday worship and various church
activities in the church building. Pastor Ding Jianling said: “The
grace of the Lord is overflowing, and the investment of five million
yuan on the church all comes from the loving donations from brothers
and sisters over the past 10 years or so and is the fruit of hard work.
Now, the temple of God is built.”
However,
beginning in 2006, sources say that real estate developers began to
covet the land on which the church was built. The developers
established connections in key agencies and departments and planned to
build commercial housing units to sell for a large profit.
Because
of the pressure to sell the building and property, the church said it
was willing to hold negotiations on equal footing to solve the
problems. However, real estate developers and the relevant agencies in
the government offered to pay only 2,860,000 yuan to settle the matter.
They also refused to provide the land to replace the demolished
church.
Chengnan
Christian Church refused to accept the unfair conditions. Contacts say
that the real estate developers collaborated with relevant agencies in
the government to harass the church by cutting off the water supply and
electricity.
At
9 a.m. on January 16, 2008 government officials and real estate
developers called in more than 500 people to lay siege to the church
and tried to demolish the building. Since the church had already
petitioned, filed a case and reported the incident to the relevant
agencies for urgent resolution, and because members of the church came
out to protect the building, the church temporarily avoided demolition.
On May 29, 2008 real estate developers and officials once again, attempted to demolish the church, and once again, they failed.
One
day in August, a real estate developer desiring to provoke the
congregation, beat up one church member so badly that the victim had to
be hospitalized. The developer was required to pay for the medical
expenses.
Finally,
in order to protect themselves from harassment from Yacheng government
officials and the real estate developers, the church filed a lawsuit in
Tinghu District Court. At 6 p.m. on December 16, 2008, Tinghu District
Court ruled in favor of Chengnan Christian Church. After the ruling,
the members of the church thought the government agencies and the real
estate developers would abide by the law and would leave the church in
peace.
However,
the following day, December 17, between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., more than 50
Christians were in gathered for prayer in the church, when a large
number of police officers and unidentified people suddenly broke in.
Without showing identification or giving any explanation, the police
officers and attackers dragged the Christians outside the church, while
hundreds of government officials, police officers, security guards and
a large number of unidentified people gathered outside the church.
According
to witnesses, the leader of the mob was Cai Zhaoshan, Deputy General
Secretary of Yancheng Municipal Government. Wielding tools, the crowd
began to demolish the gate of the church, the office and other
structures. Some of the mob loaded debris into trucks and hauled it
away. When approximately 10 members of the church tried to stop the
attackers, they were beaten.
At
the time of this report, contacts reported that the church’s office,
the training center and cafeteria have all been destroyed. The damages
are estimated to be more than 3 million yuan. Witnesses report that
before officials left the scene, they boasted that they would come
again in three days to continue the demolition.
Pastor
Ding Jianling of Chengnan Christian Church says he is very sad that the
church has been destroyed and that the brothers were beaten. Pastor
Ding issued this appeal: “Please pray for us. We hope the authorities
will repent for what they have done and may they be forgiven. In broad
daylight, they occupied our property by force and broke the law
knowingly. The government must give us an explanation for this.”
ChinaAid
believes this to be a serious incident of religious persecution. This
is a significant case exposing the government’s persecution against a
Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) church, despite the fact that TSPM
churches are registered and approved by the government. Forcible
demolition of legally registered churches appears to be a new
development in recent years where corrupt government agencies and real
estate developers conspire together for huge financial profits at the
expense of disadvantaged social groups and religious freedom.
Bob
Fu, president of ChinaAid stated: “The central government has demanded
on many occasions, both in China and abroad, that churches register,
claiming that once churches are registered, they will receive legal
protection by the government. How the government handles the Yancheng
incident will be the touchstone to test the validity of their claim,
freedom of religion and rule of law in China. ChinaAid will advocate
for all Christians in China who are persecuted for their faith.”
Contact officials in Yancheng and let them know your concern for this church destruction:
Foreign Affairs Office of Yancheng City, Jiangsu
Director Zhao Ning
Fax： +86-515-6660827
Phone: +86- 515-6660825
Director Zhao Ning
Fax： +86-515-6660827
Phone: +86- 515-6660825
To request permission to reproduce ChinaAid photos and/or information, please contact: Katherine@ChinaAid.org.
For more information please visit:
For further information on Christian persecution around the globe the Christian Persecution Blog is a good source.
