New China Raids come Days after 'New' Religious Freedom Regulations

It has been reported that at least ten foreign evangelical church leaders have been detained and then deported by Chinese authorities. Among the number there were eight Americans, one Taiwanese and an unknown number of South Koreans.

The US-based persecution watchdog group, The China Aid Association (CAA) monitors religious freedom in China, reports that in the morning of 24th February, more than 100 Chinese security officers raided a temporary house church leadership training site. The incident took place in the suburbs of Harbin city, the capital of the Heilongjiang province, which also is one of the major cities in northeast China.

An eye-witness reported that approximately 140 Chinese house church leaders from across 7-8 provinces had been attending the centre.

A huge number of Chinese government agencies took part in the raid, which CAA reports was directly overseen by the director of the Public Security Bureau of Heilongjiang province. Officers from the provincial public security, national security, foreign affairs office, religious affairs bureau and military police all took part in the raid.

All foreign detainees were then interrogated separately for thirteen hours in the building with interpreters provided. They were all then ordered to leave China within the next three to five days.

Those expelled form the country included well-known Taiwanese church leader Rev. Lin Yuyuan and two other Chinese-speaking Korean Americans. In addition, those deported included well-known American church leaders Rev. Dr. Brad Long and Rev. John Chang. Long, a minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA), is the executive Director of Presbyterian Reformed Ministries International—a North Carolina-based Christian training ministry. Chang, who recently retired as president of the general assembly of Reformed Church in America (RCA), is the senior pastor of the Grace Christian Church in Flushing, NY City. It is believed that all of the deported Americans returned home before 1st March 2005.

The 140 Chinese house pastors were also released in the early hours of the morning following the raids, after they gave home addresses, church affiliations and finger prints. Reliable sources in the area also have reported that up to 20,000 RMB (£1350) cash was confiscated along with mobile phones of the pastors.

The reported raid has come to light just one day after China implemented new regulations, which the government says would protect freedom of faith. Despite the Chinese government promoting the regulations in this way, many other critics have suggested that the new laws could in fact be used to persecute religious groups.

Bob Fu, CAA’s president said, "To disrupt a normal Christian fellowship meeting and to detain and deport the participants of the same faith from other countries is certainly contrary to the government's claim to guarantee religious freedom in China."