**News Release***
Persecution of Chinese Christians Worst Since Cultural Revolution, Pastor Reports
Save the Persecuted Christians Coalition Laments Bibles Confiscated, Crosses Defaced and Churches Destroyed in China
WASHINGTON—A Chinese pastor says that under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, the persecution of Christians in his country is at its worst levels since the end of the Cultural Revolution.
According to a story in LifeZette.com, the news site created by Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Bibles are being confiscated, decorative crosses destroyed, churches closed—in some cases, they are actually being blown up—and, throughout China, church attendance is monitored by government authorities. Pastor Bob Fu recently told Ingraham on her show that “religious freedom and human rights in general [have] become the worst” since the 1970s, with wars being waged against the church, Christian symbols and children in Sunday schools, as well as a “tremendous increase” in persecution.
Additionally, LifeZette reported pastors’ sermons can be monitored, and everyone attending a church service or mass can be recorded.
The need for enhanced awareness about the subject is great, Ingraham noted, because in China, President Xi “has a particular animosity against Christianity” and the issue does not receive adequate coverage in the media.
With such sparse media coverage on the plight of persecuted Christians in China, one organization taking action to help is the Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC) Coalition, which advocates on behalf of 215 million Christians worldwide facing heavy persecution. Pastor Fu is a founding member of the Coalition, which is working hard to disseminate actionable information about ways in which the American people can help those being persecuted.
One of the ways Americans can render support is by encouraging their pastors and faith leaders to visit www.SaveThePersecutedChristians.org and order a free banner to display in front of houses of worship. These simple banners feature the Arabic “nun” character, which has become an international symbol for the oppression of Christians ever since the Islamic State used this first letter of the Arabic word for “Nazarene” to designate homes of followers of Christ targeted for persecution.
Working with Pastor Fu and faith leaders in other communities, STPC plans to release versions of its banner in other languages such as Chinese and Spanish, bringing its message—and hope—to the American family members of these Christians who are being persecuted overseas.
Raising awareness is an important first step, especially as Christian persecution occurs so routinely it rarely makes headlines. For example, according to Open Doors, 255 Christians are killed worldwide every month. 104 Christians are abducted. 180 Christian women are raped, sexually assaulted or forced into marriage. 160 Christians are detained or imprisoned without trial. And 66 churches are attacked. Every month.
The STPC Coalition is a building movement, similar to one in the 1970s that helped free another population suffering from heavy persecution—Soviet Jews—so as to impel policy changes that will hold the persecutors accountable and increase the costs for their crimes against humanity. Building such a movement is necessary to provide American policymakers the leverage needed to influence change in China, among other places, and to alleviate the suffering of those who are being persecuted merely because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
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