Beijing Authorities Arrest Dozens of Christians

For more news visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ☛ http://facebook.com/NTDTelevision

Chinese authorities have arrested dozens of Christians who were planning a public prayer session in Beijing on Sunday. The arrests come as authorities intensify their crackdown on all kinds of dissent nationwide.

Christians planning to have an open-air service in Beijing on Sunday arrived to find the area barricaded by police. The police then took them away in buses.

The members of the Shouwang Church, a protestant group with about 1000 members, say they had attempted to have an out-door service because authorities had forced them out of their rented premises.

They are among more than 40 million protestant Christians in China. Many of them choose so-called underground churches over the official churches that are controlled by the Chinese regime.

But that choice comes at a price, with authorities regularly shutting down their activities and arresting their members.

Shouwang pastor Yuan Ling told the Associated Press by telephone that he and at least six other members were put under house arrest the night before the meeting.

Witness estimates of those arrested range from dozens to several hundred.

President of the U.S.-based China Aid Association, Bob Fu says human rights abuses against Christians in China have intensified this year.

[Bob Fu, President of the China Aid Association]:
"We have seen the government use very harsh tactics against believers including extra-legal procedures, like forced disappearance, kidnapping some of the most prominent Christian human rights activists."

The arrests come as the ruling Chinese Communist Party carries out a widespread campaign against dissent. It's apparently in response to calls for Middle East-style protests. Police have arrested dozens of lawyers, writers and activists including renowned contemporary artist Ai Weiwei.
Ben Yang

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• NTDTV
• NTD
• china
• christian
• arrest
• christian arrests
• chinese
• dissident
• crackdown
• houe arrest
• abuses
• human right

[swordseller1]

Be strong brothers in China. As Paul says To live is CHRIST and to die is gain.

[Mike913123]

America is at present a has been. If they can't clean up their house they are going to continue to decline, whether fast or slow is totally in the hands of the American people. Are they up for the task? If you judge this based on appearance, I think they will eventually get the mess cleaned up, but not before their house is destroyed by all those neighbors they're fighting. So what then? Either clean up that pile now or as they would say in NY, forget about it!

[Mike913123]

@ms48kindagal And it can't come fast enough. The problem with America is these religious nuts on the right spewing their hyperbolic crappola day in and day out. Nutters in America actually buy this crap and bam, you have yourself a huge pile of shit on your front step. Instead of dealing with it (i.e. cleaning it up), the Americans (and their politicians - joke that is) avoid the pile altogether and go out the back door. All this going on while they are fighting the entire neigborhood...

[Mike913123]

While I don't condone the tactics used by the regime in Beijing, I do applaud them for taking a stand against religion - especially Christianity and Islam. Religion is nothing more than a crutch for the weak. Anyone who believes in some dude changing water into wine has more than a couple of screws loose! Go China! But do try and be gentle with them...

[paddykayable]

Be happy my brothers and sisters in China, for your names are written in Heaven

[francoislerouxful]

Great example for Christians around the world!!! Go China.

[washingtoninnm]

You have to be strong to believe.

[ms48kindagal]

The Church of Jesus Christ has worn out many any anvil. But if Americans don't wake up, this will come here. Americans are asleep and we are losing our Christian liberties at an alarming rate.

[RonSafreed]

Hey atheist, China needs atheist missionary work. 2/3 of Chinese are atheists. but 30000 a day convert to "you know" In 1949 when Mao&communism came to power,only 1 million "you know". In 62 years of government iron-fisted policies against religion, now 110 million "yk" Mao"s little red book needs to revive to destroy that "evil Bible". Tell us atheist why those atheist chinese are becoming Christian&atheism/communism&th­e government can't stop them. Is this "evolution" atheist or what is it?

[stevefp3]

Let's pray fro them. God bless us all. Amen.