Two Priests Arrested, Protestant Pastor Kidnapped in China
“Dozens of church members have been arrested in a police crackdown, and one was beaten to death . . .”
www.christianfreedom.org
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND --- As reported by the Cardinal Kung Foundation, authorities in northern China detained two priests from the underground Roman Catholic Church.
Police in Dingzhou, a city in Hebei province, refused to comment on the Cardinal Kung Foundation’s report that they detained Lu Genjun, 42, and Cheng Xiaoli, 40.
Lu, ordained in 1990, was recently released from a labor camp after spending three years there. The report said he was detained in Dingzhou. Cheng’s whereabouts were unknown.
Protestant Pastor Kidnapped, Dozens Arrested
In a separate report, the New York-based Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China said Xu Shuangfu, founder of a Protestant evangelical group, was kidnapped last month while visiting the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.
Dozens of church members have been arrested in a police crackdown, and one was beaten to death, the Committee said.
Police in Heilongjiang would not comment on the report.
Christian Freedom International Demands Release of Christians
Christian Freedom International is calling for the immediate release of Lu Genjun, Cheng Xiaoli, and Xu Shuangfu. CFI President Jim Jacobson said “China needs to stop the brutal harassment, detention, and persecution of unregistered Christians and release all prisoners of religious conscience.”
Background
China, a country slightly smaller than the U.S., has a population of approximately 1.3 billion.
According to the U.S. State Department, “. . . the Government seeks to restrict religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship and to control the growth and scope of the activity of religious groups. The Government tries to control and regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups that could constitute sources of authority outside of the control of the Government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite these efforts at government control, membership in many faiths is growing rapidly.”
China does not recognize any Protestant denominations.
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