Zhejiang province, BosNewsLife learned. More than 60 Christians were arrested July 29 when police clashed with about 3,000 Christians who tried to prevent the demolition of their nearly completed church building in Xiaoshan, a district on the outskirts of the resort city of Hangzhou, said US-based religious rights group China Aid Association (CAA).
At least 20 people were reportedly injured in what observers described as the largest-scale confrontation between police and Christian worshippers in recent years.
Hangzhou authorities in 2003 launched a major crackdown on unsanctioned churches and destroyed about 300 house churches while arresting or detaining large numbers of church leaders, CAA said.
CHRISTIANS DETAINED
CAA told BosNewsLife it remains concerned over the roughly 50 Christians who it said remain in prison or have disappeared following the July 29 confrontation.
"What has worried us most is that some Christians disappeared after the conflict. Some are young students that can not be found in either the detention or custody centers. According to reliable sources some may have been beaten to death," CAA said in a statement. "If that is true, the government can cover up their actions by destroying the corpses. Their family members are greatly worried," the group added.
Among the imprisoned Christians are three key-leaders who were detained August 3 and identified as men Ni Huiming, 45, and Shen Jian, 48, and Shen Zhuke, a 52-year-old Christian woman.
In addition, "One Christian lady sister Wang Aizhen from Kanshan town, Xiaoshgan district was severely beaten by the anti-riot police on July 29 and one of her chest bones was broken and she is still being hospitalized," CAA confirmed.
"ILLEGAL BUILDING"
Local police confirmed an "illegal building" had been torn down but gave no more details about those injured or detained. The official Hangzhou Daily newspaper reported an "illegal building" had been demolished. The paper said a "small number of conniving people" had backed the church’s construction in defiance of Chinese laws on land use and management.
Xiaoshan district, where the megachurch was destroyed, is home to many Protestant Christians, Chinese Christians say.
The Chinese House Church Alliance said in published remarks that churches in Xiaoshan district stem from the missionary work of “China Inland Missionary,” an evangelical organization founded by the famous British missionary, Hudson Taylor, who preached the Gospel in Xiaoshan in 1867.
The latest violence also added to concern over what human rights groups described as growing government pressure on Christians worshipping in non-official churches. CAA said that shortly before the violence, police raided a church Sunday school in Huainan City of Anhui Province.
EYEWITNESS INFORMATION
"Based on eyewitness information the morning of July 27…some Christians including 90 children between the ages of 9-16 years, and 40 adults, were attending a summer Bible teacher’s training class in the home of Li Lizhong, a villager…in Huainan City of Anhui Province, when the local police suddenly attacked them."
About 40 adults were briefly detained and released the next morning while two them were sentenced to 15 days "administrative custody" CAA added.
Christian rights activists claim the Chinese Communist authorities are concerned over the spread of Christianity in China as most of the estimated 80 million Christians gather in ‘house churches’, outside the government backed denominations.
China is ranked number ten on human rights group Open Doors’ World Watch List for Christian persecution along with countries such as North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos and BosNewsLife Research and reports from China).
