The total number of reported people persecuted in Beijing was 539 from January to December 2008, up 418 per cent from 104 people in 2007, China Aid Association reported. Overall in China, there were a total of 2,027 people persecuted because of their Christian faith, up 157 per cent from 788 people in 2007.
“The significantly worse persecution of Christians in 2008 had a direct relationship with the Olympic Games,” the report states. “This is not hard to understand, because whenever the government holds important social event, serious suppression is implemented to maintain the appearance of stability through spreading fear among people.”
Persecution, as defined by the report, includes threats, inordinate fines, property confiscation, interrogation, arrest, and abuses.
China is an officially atheist country and its citizens are not allowed to legally worship unless they belong to one of the registered houses of worship that is supervised by government bodies.
But tens of millions of Christians - some estimates place the number as high as 100 million – refuse to worship in government-sanctioned churches. These “underground” or “house church” Christians worship secretly in homes at the risk of being arrested, fined, or imprisoned by China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials.
House church Christians argue that the government should not be the head of the church, and restricting where they can worship is infringing on their religious freedom.
But recently, the government-recognised church organisations, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC), said that they are willing to support the country’s house churches by providing them with Bibles.
In China, only registered churches are allowed to sell Bibles. The retail and distribution of Scripture is strictly controlled in China so that they are not imported or sold in general bookstores. As a result, it is difficult for many house church Christians to obtain a copy of the Bible.
