ICC Note: The communist Chinese government uses the law to control and regulate churches and their services. The authorities use minor infractions and false violations to close down house churches which are private gatherings of Christians and are considered illegal.

9/01/2018 China (World Magazine) – Ying Fuk-Tsang directs the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, part of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I asked him in April how churches were faring 2½ months after Beijing implemented new regulations that restrict religious activities. Here are parts of our interview edited and translated from Mandarin.

From a 30,000-foot level, how will the new religious regulations affect churches in China? The regulations, a revision of China’s 2005 Regulations on Religious Affairs, reflect President Xi Jinping’s views of religion. Xi since 2013 has wanted to use legal means to manage and control religious groups. The biggest change for Chinese churches: The government can point to specific articles and charge Christians for breaking the law.

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