Increased repression of Christians in Guangzhou: deportations of foreign missionaries and arrests of believers

A new wave of harassment of religious communities has been recorded in the Chinese industrial metropolis of Guangzhou, with authorities conducting a series of raids that culminated in the deportation of foreign figures and arrests of local believers. According to Voice of the Martyrs, these actions are part of a state strategy to impose tight party control over citizens’ spiritual lives.

According to human rights activists, law enforcement authorities raided a church in Yongji County on April 12. The result was the immediate deportation of a married couple of American missionaries who had lived and served in Guangzhou for 30 years. Dr. Bob Fu, president of China Aid, noted that this incident demonstrates Beijing’s course of completely ousting foreign religious influence, even in cases where the missionaries’ activities are apolitical in nature.

On the same day, a local Christian, Zheng Shulin, was arrested and charged with «illegal business activities.» The reason for the arrest was the distribution of literature on Christian apologetics and creationism. Along with him, Li Yuesui, who helped distribute the publications, was taken into custody. Experts emphasize that the use of economic articles of the Criminal Code is a typical method of the PRC authorities to combat religious expression, with no profit motive in the activities of the detainees.

The current intensification of repression is associated with the policy of «Chineseization» of religion, which implies the elimination of foreign ties and subordination of believers to the ideological guidelines of the Communist Party. The detainees are currently in custody and local security authorities have 37 days to decide whether to formally arrest them. There has been no official comment from the Guangzhou Public Security Department at this time.