Christianity is the Next Religion on China’s Hitlist

Catholics and Protestants living in China are being captured and detained in “transformation” centers, where they are tortured until they renounce their religion, witnesses say. 

One man, who goes by the pseudonym Li Yuese, says officials detained him during a raid on his house church in 2018. They sent him to a “secret location” staffed by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department.

“You have to accept the statement they prepare for you,” said Li. “If you refuse, you will be seen as having a bad attitude and they will keep you in detention and keep on beating you…There is no time limit for the brainwashing process.”

Li was in the detention center for nearly 10 months in a windowless room without ventilation. They gave him just two meals per day and prohibited him from going outside. “You can’t see the sun, so you lose all concept of time,” he said.

In a report published by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Li describes “underhand methods” including threats, insults, intimidation, and physical harm. At one point, he tried to kill himself by smashing his head against a wall.

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Mr. Zhang, a lawyer who says he has represented a number of Catholics from “brainwashing” facilities, backs Li’s chilling testimony. “After the religious affairs officials had arrested the bishops and priests, they didn’t pursue criminal charges — they just disappeared them, sometimes for 5, 6, or even 10 years at a stretch.”

Perhaps the worst part about China’s persecution of Christians is that it does not come as a surprise. 

Since 2017, the CCP has detained more than 1 million Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province in order to “reeducate” them. Survivors claim they endured mental torture, beatings, rape, cold showers in freezing temperatures, and electrocution. They also forcibly sterilized many of them.

The increased persecution of Christians is no doubt related to President Xi Jinping’s “sinifying religion” plan. It defines Christianity as a ‘dangerous foreign import.’ According to RFA, facilities like the one they held Li in are widespread. 

Author’s Note: China has been committing genocide against the Uighur Muslims for years without consequence. If other nations fail to team up against the CCP, the same thing could happen to Christians. There are roughly 77 million Christians living in China.

Sources:

Report: China ‘Brainwashing’ Christians to Get Them to Renounce Faith 

China ‘brainwashing’ Christians to renounce faith, report finds

Chinese Christians Held in Secretive Brainwashing Camps: Sources 

Report: Communist China is Throwing Christians Into Torturous ‘Brainwashing’ Camps