China bans Christian summer camps and Sunday schools in Zhejiang

Chinese officials in Zhejiang province have issued orders to shut down Sunday schools and prevent Christian churches from holding events during the summer months.

"For a long time, teenagers and students have not been allowed to participate in religious activities," a local Christian surnamed Zhang said, referring to a Chinese law that forbids children from attending religious events.

"However, the Three-Self Churches and house churches would usually hold summer camps during the summer vacation. The government then emphasized ... that even the Sunday schools would be closed down. The government's major intention is to shut down the Sunday schools," he added.

The orders came after another Chinese province banned Christian churches from organizing youth camps this summer.

The Henan Provincial Three-Self Patriotic Committee and the Henan Provincial China Christian Council recently issued an order that forbids churches from organizing summer camps for minors and students, citing high temperatures as a possible health risk.

A Christian from the province noted that the ban was an unusual move since such camps have been allowed in previous summers. Prior to the ban, the government would only interfere if they received a tip-off about the event.

Apart from banning the youth camps, the Nanyang Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau, located in Henan, has issued an order requiring all the 20,000 registered house church members in the province to join the Three-Self Church.

Officials in the province also announced new regulations forbidding foreign students at universities in the province from participating in any form of religious activities on campus, such as preaching or religious gatherings.

Schools in China are required to respect the customs and religious beliefs of foreign students, but they are not allowed to provide any venue for religious activities.

Zhang noted that the government's crackdown on Christians has intensified since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office.

"The government is trying to control ideology. During [Chinese Presidents] Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao's time, the government was tolerant toward preaching and missionary work. After Xi Jinping came into power, the government's grip on religion has strengthened," he said, according to China Aid.

Hundreds of pastors and Christian activists have been arrested in China recent years for protesting against the forced demolition of churches.

China's atheistic government has labeled Christian gatherings as a national security risk and has also targeted Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners for their faith.

According to a report published by Freedom House in March, as many as 100 million people, including Protestant Christians, are facing "high" or "very high" levels of persecution at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.