Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials reportedly raided a virtual church service in Guangdong province that was meeting on Zoom.
Authorities forced pastor Mao Zhibin and former Chu Yanqing of Shenzhen Trinity Gospel Harvest Church to stop preaching as other CCP officials locked themselves in the church building, International Christian Concern reported. .
Chinese authorities once again disrupted a church service hosted by Shenzhen Trinity Gospel Harvest Church last Sunday. See: https://t.co/8RKwiD5xwP
– International Christian Concern (@persecutionnews) July 23, 2021
The incident took place on July 11, nearly three months after church member Shi Minglei, also known as Hope, fled to the United States. Hope was also attending the online worship service bombarded by authorities.
Shenzhen Trinity Gospel, which advocates for justice in China, has seen many CCP protesters join the young church since its founding just four years ago.
Since Pastor Mao and Elder Shen Ling started supporting the “Joint Pastors’ Declaration: A Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith” by Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Alliance Church, moreover in addition, church members were targeted by the CCP.
It comes shortly after the CCP’s centenary when pastors of China’s Three Self-Governing Churches were ordered to adapt their sermons to include parts of a speech by President Xi Jinping on July 1.
Xi ordered all religions to “sinicize” to ensure they are loyal to the officially atheist party. Christians in China say it is the worst persecution against them since Chairman Mao Zedong.
The Chinese government continues to take steps to remove religious material from Christians as the Communist regime strives to eliminate the religious community.
Like CBN News reported in May, the Communist government took Christian WeChat’s accounts offline.
Users receive the following message when attempting to access it:
“(We) have received a report that (this account) violates the ‘Provisions for the Management of Public Account Information Services of Internet Users’ and its account has been blocked and suspended.”
In addition, the Bible Apps have been removed from the Chinese App Store and the paper versions can no longer be purchased online.
Last year, hundreds of crosses were removed from religious buildings in just one province over a four-month period.
China is ranked 17th on Open Doors’ 2021 Global Watchlist of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.
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