Chinese churches won't pledge loyalty to Communist Party despite looming crackdown

Jardine Malado Wednesday, October 12, 2016

A local resident rides a bicycle past a church in Xiaoshan, a commercial suburb of Hangzhou, the capital of China's east Zhejiang province December 21, 2006. | REUTERS/Lang Lang/Files

The Chinese Communist Party enacted a new set of laws that puts tougher restrictions on religious activities but churches remained steadfast in their faith and continued to defy government orders.

The new laws sought to criminalize Christians who refuse to pledge loyalty to the state and put churches under the control of the Communist Party, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

Wang Zeqing, a pastor of an underground church, acknowledged that the new regulations posed a great challenge to his congregation but he said that he will remain faithful to Jesus Christ.

"A person who truly believes in Jesus Christ will not lose their faith or become weak due the changing environment," he told ABC.

The new laws will also put the party in charge of hiring and firing church leaders and allow them to change religious doctrine.

"Jesus Christ is my only belief, my only loyalty is to Jesus Christ," Wang explained. "God says you should love your enemies, if they are hungry give them food to eat if they are thirsty give them water to drink, so we will pray for the non-believers. Let the spirit of Jesus move them and conquer them," he added.

"We urgently prayer for protection for the church and ask for God's mercy from the new laws from the Party," one churchgoer shouted in prayer.

Other Church leaders in Beijing are already expecting to be arrested and detained. Pastor Xu YongHai told ABC that he is expecting harassment and arrests from the government but he vowed to continue serving in the church even if it has to relocate. He believed that churches will be pushed further underground and continue to grow despite the new regulations.

Authorities have already began the crackdown in other parts of the country even before the new regulations were enacted.

Last month, a house church in Sichuan was ordered to stop holding religious services inside its building. Authorities threatened to impose administrative penalties on the church if it continued to violate the order.