ICC Note: Many churches in Zhejiang province have reported that local authorities have moved to meticulously inspect religious venues and intimidate churchgoers. The government uses the fire safety issues as a way to harass house churches and issue ban for them to meet. Many parents in Wenzhou also reported that their children were asked by the school to provide their religious affiliation.   

05/17/2018 China (China Aid) – Recently, the local governments of Wenzhou and Shaoxing in the Zhejiang province of Eastern China have begun to scrupulously inspect religious venues and intimidate church members.

According to local Christians, government departments planned to ban all religious meeting places. The government officials often visit a gathering place before issuing the ban, pressuring the landlords who accommodate the churches or criticizing the building’s fire-fighting facilities.

The government conducted the so-called fire safety inspections in the religious venues in order to find excuses to shut down the churches. A Hangzhou Christian named Li spoke on the unfair treatment. She said, “The police often show up and say that they want to conduct a fire safety inspection. They wander around in the church and arbitrarily point out that some facilities do not meet the standards. Then, they require you to reform in two weeks. Even if you do exactly as they said, they would still deem you ‘unqualified’ in the next inspection. You are helpless.”

According to the official website of Shaoxing’s religious affairs bureau, an inspection was done on April 25 of the Zeshuipai Christian Church and Tongqing Temple in order to ensure stability and prevent potential hazards. The government officials, Wang Ziqin and Wang Yongxing, paid special attention to the usage and maintenance of fire safety, electricity safety, gas safety, emergency exits, and the candles in the religious venues. They also questioned the directors of the churches about the safety issues.

Regarding this, Christian Mr. Zhu pointed out that the government was only trying to find an excuse to ban the unofficial churches. He said, “The government will ban you no matter what. We no longer organize large-scale gatherings. Only a few people meet up in their own houses, changing location once in a while.”
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