Police in northwest China carried out several Christmas raids on "underground" churches, arresting 12 parish leaders and deliberately disrupting celebrations, a rights activist said yesterday.
On Christmas Day, 200 police officers and religious affairs officials in Manasi County in the Xinjiang region raided a celebration attended by 210 Christians, the Texas-based China Aid Association said.
They arrested 12 church leaders and confiscated private property including two vehicles, a piano, a video camera, 80 copies of the Bible, 230 new towels and all the Christmas food, the rights watchdog said.
"The parishioners felt a big loss especially because they spent a lot of time making this food and the police just took them," said China Aid Association director Bob Fu, who spoke to victims.
According to one female pastor, police declared the meeting an "illegal religious gathering" and warned Pastor Guo Xianyao, 54, that they had been following him for sometime.
Guo, a cadre at the local government's industry and commerce bureau, was beaten around the head, dragged by his hair, punched and kicked, Fu said.
The next day, police released seven of the arrested leaders. Five, including Guo, remain in custody, Fu said.
An official from the Manasi detention center said the five were still in detention. All of the arrested were also required to pay fines, according to Fu.
China insists it grants religious freedom but routinely arrests people for worshipping in non-government registered or "underground" churches which refuse to submit to official monitoring and meddling.
While the government sees the commercial benefits of Christmas, it is wary about the spread of Christianity for fear that strong religious belief will challenge its authority.
Fu said there had been a number of other raids in underground churches before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, six police officers in Korla City, in the central part of Xinjiang, interrupted a meeting attended by 100 believers and ordered the worshippers to go to a government-sanctioned church service instead, Fu said.
On Dec. 13, police in Zhaqi County in northern China's Inner Mongolia region detained house church pastors Miao Fengming and Liu Haibo for 24 hours and accused them of "leading illegal religious gatherings."
Both have since been released, according to Fu.
In Gushi County, Henan Province and Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, police also raided the houses of pastors Yang Li and Shi Enhao. They were not home at the time.
Both have since gone into hiding, Fu said.
Police have demanded their relatives hand them over, accusing the pastors of being involved with the banned Falungong spiritual group, which Fu said was not true.
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