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China arrests nearly 600 underground churchgoers

Officials in northeast China's Jilin Province have carried out a major crackdown on underground churches and detained nearly 600 worshippers and leaders, a US group said yesterday.

The campaign was carried out on May 22. About 100 heads of the illegal churches, including professors from the province's Changchun University, remain in custody, the China Aid Association (CAA) said.

China allows Christians to worship only in state-approved churches which come under strict government monitoring. Many, however, prefer to attend underground or "house" churches.

One of the leaders detained was Zhao Dianru, 58, who was praying in his home when a dozen police raided and searched his house, the CAA said in a statement.

He was held in custody at the Jiutai City detention center until June 6 when he was released, the CAA said.

Around the same time about 100 house churches in the Changchun area, the capital of Jilin Province, were raided and almost 600 house church worshippers and leaders were taken into custody, the CAA said.

Most were released after 24 to 48 hours of interrogation.

University students, professors and other young intellectuals make up most of the parishioners at the raided house churches, CAA cited sources as saying.

The religious rights group said it believes the raids were aimed at eliminating the influence of house churches in university areas.

The churches affected are independent house churches with thousands of believers who choose not to register with the government, CAA said.

"While the Chinese government has been claiming to the world community that Chinese people are enjoying religious freedom, this major assault on unregistered house churches in Jilin Province really shows the opposite," said CAA president Bob Fu.

Local police officials yesterday said they were not aware of the incident. Government officials could not be reached for comment.
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