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.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft