Worshippers at the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, have been targeted by the authorities. ,,,
A church in China has been warned against breaking sex, drugs and gambling laws – for using the word “Christ”.
In the latest twist in a crackdown against Christians, the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan, has been banned from using the word.
The church’s WeChat book review group had recommended Christian classics The Imitation of Christ and Exposition of the Christian Faith – before a WeChat censorship team sent them a warning: “The word ‘Christ’ you are trying to publish violates regulations on Internet Information Services, including, but not limited to the following categories: pornography, gambling, drug abuse, incitement.”
Tough new rules in China introduced in March ban any person or group from posting religious content online without gaining provincial government approval. It’s being seen as a state bid to control churches.
Paul Robinson, CEO of human rights group Release International, said: “In today’s China, it seems Jesus Christ is lumped in with porn, drugs and rabble-rousing.”
Elsewhere, Chinese Christians have reported seeing their WeChat public accounts deleted or blocked by the authorities.
The free Chinese messaging and calling app offers functions including online payments, transfer of audio and video files, publicised content and subscriptions.
Many Chinese churches use it to share daily devotions, worship music and sermons and provide chat rooms to discuss the Christian faith. But public accounts that share Christian material with subscribers have been targeted by censors, with those that attract a high volume of traffic affected most.
“The closure of a number of WeChat public accounts might affect especially new converts because now they are unable to download or subscribe to receive Christian materials such as online teaching and devotionals from certain WeChat channels,” a local contact told Open Doors.
“Materials I could access in cyberspace are getting slimmer. That’s a disadvantage for me as a Christian when I want to get spiritual nurturing online.
“It also affects pastors and church leaders if they want to search for more resources.”
When people use “Christ” as a keyword to find materials, WeChat will show articles and other information from government-sanctioned churches or historical facts about Christianity, but not on Jesus.
Chinese Christians, however, still find ways to make use of cyberspace as much as possible. According to the Open Doors’ contact, they are still able to share Christian content in personal accounts with their WeChat friends, carry out their online fellowship, encourage and support each other.
