More Zhejiang demolitions; overseas Christian books banned from Amazon-like site<\/p>\n
ICC Note:<\/p>\n
The article discusses the ongoing church demolition in Zhejiang province, China, and the government\u2019s action in limiting the online selling of overseas Christian books. Last month, the government also stopped the Amity Foundation, the largest printer for Bibles.<\/p>\n
05\/15\/2014 China (ChinaAid)- Two more churches were demolished in China\u2019s coastal Zhejiang province last week in a continuation of the province\u2019s campaign to demolish \u201cillegal structures,\u201d and persecution has spread to the web.<\/p>\n
Less than two weeks after Sanjiang Church, a large Protestant church, was demolished in Yongjia County, Wenzhou, and less than one week after numerous other demolitions in Zhejiang, authorities tore down Shangwan Church and Hebin Churcn in Longwan District, Wenzhou (see http:\/\/www.chinaaid.org\/2014\/04\/zhejiang-christians-fear-sanjiang.html and http:\/\/www.chinaaid.org\/2014\/05\/more-zhejiang-churches-report-threats.html).<\/p>\n
On May 8, authorities arrived at Hebin Church and claimed the church building was an \u201cillegal structure.\u201d Believers said that construction workers completely razed and cleared the site in just two hours. Then, Shangwan Church, which was built in 1868, was demolished on May 9 in drizzling rain.<\/p>\n
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\u201c[The believers] sent me photos,\u201d Zhang Mingxuan, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, said. \u201cTwo churches have been demolished. I\u2019ve seen the photos\u2026 The churches there have a history of more than 100 years, and were built when missionaries were there. I estimate that more churches will be demolished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Longwan believers also predict that more churches will be demolished. \u201cEvery church is investigated to see whether it has violated the regulations or whether it has all the legal paperwork,\u201d a citizen said. \u201cAccording to worshippers from house churches, there are many such investigations. Here in our district, [in the past], a church was demolished because of a road expansion. After the demolition, the church built a building at a new location.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, it was order to be demolished [again], and the government won\u2019t let us have the paperwork to rebuild it. Without their authorization, how can we get the paperwork done? We are law-abiding citizens, but they\u2019ve made it hard for us to abide by the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local Christians told China Aid that the history of Christianity in Longwan District can be traced back to July 1867, when Josiah Alexander Jackson, an American missionary, came to preach the Gospel in Wenzhou. Believers said the next year, Jackson established a church, which lead to Wenzhou becoming one of the most concentrated areas of Christians in China, thus the moniker, \u201cJerusalem of China.\u201d<\/p>\n
Online sale of Christian books banned<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the government\u2019s crackdown on Christianity has reached a digital platform. Taobao.com, a Chinese site similar to eBay and Amazon, was ordered to remove all religious books from the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaobao.com\u2019s service of purchasing Christian books from overseas has been forced to stop,\u201d one Christian said. \u201cMany of Taobao\u2019s stores, [run by individuals or small businesses], have received notices to delete the pictures [of the books].\u201d<\/p>\n
The person also told China Aid that Amity Foundation, the largest printer of Bibles in China, was forced to stop printing last month. Rumors, supposedly based on information from within Amity Foundation, saying that printing may resume in June, have begun circulating.<\/p>\n
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From\u00a0http:\/\/www.persecution.org\/2014\/05\/16\/chinese-government-limits-online-selling-of-christian-books\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More Zhejiang demolitions; overseas Chri … Continue reading