Official Repression of House Church Members Continues in Xinjiang

December 8, 2006

Official government repression of Protestant house church members in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) continued in October and November, with three reported incidences of house church members being taken into custody, according to the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China.

Official government repression of Protestant house church members in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) continued in October and November, with three reported incidences of house church members being taken into custody, according to the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China.

  • Officials detained house church member Tian Maishi on October 18 in Urumqi city, XUAR, holding her for at least three weeks, according to a November 15 CAA report. Officials accused Tian of "illegal evangelism" and "use of superstition to cheat another person" but the report did not specify whether authorities were citing specific violations of religious regulations or criminal law when detaining Tian. The government employs various legal and extralegal methods to penalize religious adherents engaged in religious practices that it deems illegitimate.
  • Officials in Yili city, XUAR, raided a house where unregistered Protestants had gathered for the blessing of a home on October 20, taking more than 10 house church members into custody, along with 3 Singaporean nationals, according to an October 31 CAA report. Officials released most of those in custody, including the Singaporeans, on October 21, but five of the house church members remained in detention as of October 31.
  • Authorities in Urumqi city, XUAR raided a Bible training program on October 26, taking into custody and questioning 34 house church members and an American pastor, according to a CAA report dated the same day. A CAA report on October 27 said that officials beat 1 house church member, but released the 34 they took into custody after 12 hours of questioning, and kept the American pastor under surveillance in a hotel. Officials also detained several house church members again for questioning on October 27, and asked others to appear for additional questioning.

For more information on Protestants in China, see the CECC 2006 Annual Report, Section V(d).