Authorities in the Chinese coastal province of Zheijiang have increased pressure on churches in the area, closing down at least one house church in the lead-up to the G20 summit next month, China Aid has claimed.
The US-based organisation said authorities have been closely monitoring hotels, restaurants, churches and temples ahead of the summit in the provincial capital of Hangzhou on 4th to 5th September where US President Barack Obama will join other world leaders to discuss the global economy.
China Aid said that in addition to the monitoring, a crackdown on unapproved religious activity has been intensifed, particularly with regard to house churches. They report that officials recently raided a house affiliated with Watchman Nee’s ‘Little Flock’ movement which has been meeting for more than 40 years and has almost 2,000 members, and forbade further meetings from taking place.
Several other house churches in the area also reported that officials had forced meetings to stop while some churches outside the city have said they have been warned that they must comply with state requirements for religious groups.
Persecuted church advocacy Release International this week called for prayer for Christians in Zhejiang, especially for the those members of churches that have been closed or face the threat of closure, as well as for God to “touch the hearts” of officials monitoring churches.
