China Aid Association (CAA), one of the leading Chinese persecution watchdogs, has released its first annual persecution report on the oppression experienced by Christians in China in 2006.
According to the report, the Chinese government continued its general crackdown on unregistered house churches between January 2006 and December 2006, although the Chinese authorities have adapted their strategies to fit the shifting domestic and international situation.
Reported incidents of raids on house churches have decreased in 2006 in comparison to previous years. According to CAA sources, the Chinese government detained over 600 Christians in 2006 - less than 2005 when more than 2000 arrests were reported.
CAA said this drop reflects the Public Security Officials' new tactic of interrogating church members during a raid rather than officially arresting them. Most of the reported detentions in 2006 were church leaders.
By comparison, the local officials closed and demolished more house churches in 2006 than 2005. According to the CAA report, three house churches were demolished in Zhejiang province in 2006, including the large ongoing building of a house church in Xiaoshan.
CAA also reported an increasing tendency to target house church leaders with criminal accusations. Pastor Cai Zhuohua, a house church pastor in Beijing, was convicted in November 2005 of "illegal operation of a business" for printing and giving away Bibles without government authorisation.
Two other house church pastors, Liu Yuhua and Wang Zaiqing, were also reportedly detained and sentenced under the same accusation in 2006. Mr. Zhang Rongliang, a leader of the China for Christ house church network in Henan province, was sentenced to prison for seven years and six months under the charge of "illegally crossing the national border and fraudulently obtaining a passport" in June 2006.
