YAYANG (AFP) — A church in east China was scaffolded and had its cross removed, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw Friday, with residents and rights groups saying multiple members had been arrested as a national crackdown on unofficial Christian organizations grows.
Yayang church, in the Wenzhou area of Zhejiang province, is one of China’s unregistered churches that emerged as an alternative to places of worship regulated and approved by Beijing.
China’s ruling Communist Party has historically regarded organized religion with suspicion, and under President Xi Jinping, has tightened scrutiny of unofficial groups.
The events in Wenzhou come the same week an underground church in the southwestern city of Chengdu said several of its key leaders had been detained.
“As Beijing tightens its ideological control, unofficial churches are seen as ‘disobedient’ to the Communist Party ideology and, therefore, pay a heavy price,” Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.
Overseas religious rights groups said the crackdown on the Protestant church in the town of Yayang began in mid-December, with reportedly around 100 members initially detained, and two dozen still in custody.
AFP has been unable to verify those numbers, but two of the small town’s residents confirmed people had been detained in December, though they were unable to give specifics.
One local Christian said she thought around 30 people were taken away by police.
AFP saw posters on walls and lampposts, dated to 13 December, calling for public help in capturing two prominent church members, complete with mugshots.
The notices said the two men were part of a “criminal gang,” “involved in the crime of provoking trouble.”
AFP was also able to pinpoint the location of a video posted in mid-December, which showed black-clad police walking in formation towards the direction of the church.
The Chinese foreign ministry and local authorities did not immediately respond to a request for official comment.