WEB DESK
Chinese military police demolished one of the country’s largest evangelical churches this week, using heavy machinery and dynamite where more than 50,000 Christians worshiped, reports New York Times.
According to the paper the Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province was one of at least two Christian churches demolished by the authorities in recent weeks, part of what critics describe as a national effort to regulate spiritual life in China.
According to ChinaAid, On Jan. 9, Chinese military police detonated explosives situated in underground worship halls beneath the church and proceeded to demolish its above-ground building, leaving it shattered.
China’s military police has been under the direct control of the central government since the head of the public security bureau, which previously commanded it, was arrested last year. This indicates that the order to destroy the church came from China’s top officials instead of the less-powerful local authorities.
Global Times, a state newspaper, described the building’s destruction as part of a “citywide campaign to remove illegal buildings,” and quoted an unidentified official as saying that the church had been “secretly” constructed without proper permits and was initially disguised as a warehouse.
Members of the megachurch, however, have previously clashed with the authorities, including in 2009 when the police confiscated Bibles and imprisoned several of the congregation’s leaders.
(Photo: ChinaAid)