Churches ordered closed during Olympics

An organization founded by a man who escaped from China after being persecuted for his Christian faith says it has uncovered a secret Chinese government document demanding that churches shut their doors for 90 days around the Beijing Olympics.

"Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese government," said the report from China Aid Association, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians.

"Pastors were forced to sign a written agreement that they would not participate in religious services while the Olympic Games are taking place in China," the organization said.

China Aid said the document, drafted by Chinese government officials, specifies that the house churches in China "refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose."

The group asserted the discovery of the document "provides further evidence of the PRC's hypocrisy towards creating a 'harmonious society' marked by religious freedom and rule of law."

"The fact the document was issued while the world's focus is on China is a blatant challenge to the international community and an apathetic stance toward seeking to correct human rights violations," China Aid said.

The organization said the Chinese document that pastors were required to sign, translated into English, says:

We will abide by the relevant provisions in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and Regulations on Religious Affairs and persevere in patriotism and love for one's religion.
We will observe the relevant codes of conduct and the law and refrain from doing anything that endangers the society. We will also refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose.
During the Olympic Games, activities at the gathering sites will be shut down for three months (July 15-October 15)
Should we violate the above rules, we will let the relevant agencies handle the case according to law.

Government document shutting down Christian churches for Olympics

"If China is seeking to put on the mantle of a world superpower, it must first acknowledge the unalienable rights of its own people. CAA calls on the international community and those concerned to voice their complaint to the relevant Chinese Government authorities," the organization said.

WND previously reported Daniel Burton of China Aid Association documented a "dramatic rise" in persecution of Christians in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Burton told WND that in most cases, the Beijing Public Security Bureau uses the same terror-raid tactics to stifle free associations of Christians in what the government calls the "unregistered church": Police storm a building where a house church is meeting, arrest the pastor, disband the members and warn them not to meet again.

WND reported earlier, citing sources at the CAA and Voice of the Martyrs, that China expelled more than 100 foreign Christian missionaries over a 90-day period last fall, the largest expulsion of foreign religious workers since 1954.

WND also reported CAA learned from reliable internal Chinese government sources the country's Ministry of Public Security created a list of 11 categories of people that would be barred from attending the Olympics. Among the blacklisted will be "people who illegally distribute religious publications and video-audio materials" and "people who have illegally established both in China and abroad religious organizations, institutions, schools, sermon sites and other religious entities."

Shi Weihan and his family (China Aid Association photo)

In a high-profile case, bookstore owner Shi Weihan was arrested first late last year, when police discovered he ran a house church in the building next to his Holy Spirit Christian Bookstore in Beijing. The Beijing Public Security Bureau closed the store, confiscated the books, arrested Shi, arrested and interrogated his wife, then released her but kept Shi imprisoned for two weeks.

After Shi's case received international attention, the government released him.

In March, however, Shi was arrested again, and he's been held imprisoned since then. The CAA reports that Shi, who is diabetic, has been barred from seeing his family, has only met once with his attorney and his physical condition is deteriorating.

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