China bans one of Beijing’s biggest underground Protestant churches
Zion church in north of the capital targeted by authorities as part of increasing crackdown on religious activities
Beijing city authorities have banned one of the largest unofficial Protestant churches in the city and confiscated “illegal promotional materials” amid a deepening crackdown on China’s “underground” churches.
The Zion church had for years operated with relative freedom, hosting hundreds of worshippers every weekend in an expansive specially renovated hall in north Beijing.
But since April, after they rejected requests from authorities to install closed-circuit television cameras in the building, the church has faced growing pressure from the authorities and has been threatened with eviction.
On Sunday, the Beijing Chaoyang district civil affairs bureau said that by organising events without registering, the church was breaking rules forbidding mass gatherings.
It told the church it was now “legally banned” and its “illegal promotional material” had been confiscated, according to images of the notice sent to Reuters late on Sunday and confirmed by church-goers.
“I fear that there is no way for us to resolve this issue with the authorities,” Zion’s pastor Jin Mingri said.