06/16/2020 China (International Christian Concern) – Between January and April 2020, over 250 state-approved churches in the Anhui province had their crosses forcefully taken down. These actions are part of China’s plan to ensure stability; authorities are to take down all Christian symbols according to religious regulations. These regulations do not specifically target Christian symbols, but any religious symbol, since they are considered a threat to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to Bitter Winter, a persecution watchdog magazine, the victims include but are not limited to Three-Self churches in Lu’an, Ma’anshan, Huaibei and Fuyang. Three-self churches are China’s state-approved churches, which grants the CCP full authority over the religious institution. Congregations that support the state and comply with their regulations still experience persecution.

On April 2, over 100 Gulou Church members in Fuyang city tried to stop authorities from taking down their cross from the century-old church. One member said, “Officials did not show any documents, fearing that people would implicate them with anything in writing. They only conveyed verbal orders and forced us to obey them.”

Local officials told the church members that the cross’ removal was done in accordance with a national policy to remove religious symbols.

In the city of Lu-an, over 183 churches had crosses removed during the first four months of 2020, according to the magazine. The report states that in March, a church leader in the city was threatened with imprisonment and the closure of his church if the church’s cross was not removed.

China’s ongoing crackdown against churches has been noted in the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s  (USCIRF) 2020 report. Some churches were asked to remove pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary inside of their buildings and replace them with images of President Xi Jinping, while children under 18 are banned from participating in religious activities.

For interviews, contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].