ICC Note:

China is beginning a state funded program on Sundays in a bid to keep children out of church. Zhejiang is serving as the guinea pig in the governments heightened crackdown on Christianity. The program consists of setting up community centers and holding activities on the weekend to attract children and keep them out of church. In Wenzhou, an area known for its high number of Christians, China is rolling out an even more aggressive program. The program will create a grid system of 1,500 officers from the religious affairs bureau to canvas and regulate Christian activity in the region, and to force churches to follow government regulation. These new practices combined with new laws in the pipeline for next year will make it harder than ever for Chinese Christians to practice their faith.

11/11/2016 China (Christian Today) – Christian children in China are being lured away from churches by a government scheme aimed at stopping them from taking part in Sunday services with other believers.

According to Texas-based watchdog China Aid, authorities in Zhejiang province have begun setting up community cultural centres and holding child-friendly activities at weekends to attract young people, “thus eliminating the problem of them attending church”.

The scheme has so far been established in Yangy, Tengqiao, Shanfu and other towns.

Zhejiang has been the centre of a government campaign to crack down on churches and up to 1,700 churches have been demolished or had their crosses removed in the province over the past three years.

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