ICC Note: China continues its crackdown upon house churches, this time chasing one that has accumulated a couple thousand members by being active since the days of Mao Zedong – a very old church by Chinese standards. But still seems counter-intuitive that China would attempt to veil its abundant Christian communities by publicly known persecution in preparation for a world summit to be attended by many leaders from the Western world. Let us hope and pray that President Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, PM Malcom Turnbull of Australia, and other leaders of the free world will be bold to press Chinese leaders during the Summit for their abrupt and unjust uprooting of Christian houses of worship.

8/11/2016 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (China Aid) – With a major international summit of world leaders to be held in China’s coastal Zhejiang province in early September, Chinese authorities have increased pressure on churches in the area, closing down a prominent house church for organizing “Christian activities without permission.”

The G20 summit is an annual meeting of nations to discuss key issues of the global economy. The leaders of 19 nations and the European Union, including President Obama, will meet in Hangzhou, Zhejiang from Sept. 4-5. Zhejiang authorities have reportedly been preparing for this meeting as early as February, including a close monitoring of hotels, restaurants, churches and temples.

In addition to this monitoring, however, crackdowns on religious activity unapproved by the government have increased. Authorities have cited that their actions to prepare for G20 include closing various “folk beliefs,” which they claim pose safety risks, and organizations that hold large or unusual activities “without approval.”

This initiative specifically targets Christian house churches. Officials recently raided a house church in Hangzhou that is affiliated with Watchman Nee’s “Little Flock” Local Church movement. This house church has nearly 2,000 members and has been meeting for more than forty years, even gathering during Mao Zedong’s oppressive Cultural Revolution. A local neighborhood committee and police station issued a notice that prohibited all future meetings.

According to Li Guisheng, a Christian human rights lawyer, the church’s members consulted with him regarding legal problems but chose not to reveal their church’s name for fear of being exposed.

Local Christian Zan Aizong reported that eight officials from the religious affairs bureau and its sub-district office raided the church to take pictures and disperse the service, forbidding the church from meeting further. Several other house churches in the area also reported authorities forcing meetings to stop.