President Xi Jinping of China is becoming increasingly concerned about the growth of the Christian Church in China, which could reach 300 million people by 2030. This was reported by Dr. Ron Boyd-Macmillan, Director of Strategic Research at Open Doors, a Christian organization that has been in operation in countries where there is no freedom of religion.
And despite the fact there has been a mild liberalization in recent years, there is report of a tighter scrutiny of Christian churches by the authorities.
The bulk of Christians in China belong to what is called the underground churches which operate independently from the organized church registered by the state. They are the churches that are growing in numbers and can cause concern to China’s authoritarian government.
In the past two-three years, there have been reliable reports of persecution, even church buildings or facilities that have been burned down or destroyed.
Dr. Ron Boyd-MacMillan, told Express media that the Chinese leader is becoming quite concerned about the exponential growth of the Christian Church in China.
“We think the evidence as to why the Chinese Church is so targeted, is that the leaders are scared of the size of the Church, and the growth of the Church,” Dr. Boyd-MacMillan said.
“And if it grows, at the rate it has done, since 1980, and that’s about between seven and 8 percent a year, then you’re looking at a group of people that will be 300 million strong, nearly by 2030.
“And, you know, the Chinese leadership, they really do long term planning, I mean, their economic plan goes to 2049, so this bothers them. Because I think if the Church continues to grow like that, then they will have to share power,” he added.
Last year, an international Christian watchdog organization for persecuted Christians worldwide, warned that the persecution of Christians in China is set to rise in 2021.
In its annual Persecution Trends survey, Release International warned that persecution is thriving in Communist China, which has gone unchallenged by the international community due to increased dependence on trade.
According to the organization’s partners: “The government of President Xi Jinping is increasing its ‘clean up’ of anything that does not advance the communist agenda. They believe they can achieve this by systematic opposition.”
Release International’s website notes: “Tough new laws controlling religion have been imposed. Non-registered churches have been raided and closed in 2020, and increasing numbers of registered churches have been made to install CCTV cameras and put up posters proclaiming communist ideals and beliefs.”
The organization went on to accuse China of exploiting the pandemic in an effort to tighten restrictions on underground church gatherings.
Bob Fu of China Aid said: “The Chinese Government is trying every way to take advantage of the virus by increasing the crackdown against Christian churches. It has accelerated particular campaigns, such as the forced removal of crosses.
It is estimated there is currently between 60 to 100 million Christians in China, making this number one of the biggest Christian groups in a country anywhere in the world. And more importantly, these Chinese Christians became Christians by choice for conversion, and not by tradition, as in some Christian countries.
Because the believers in China are practicing Christians in an environment where the church is under pressure, they usually become far more potent in their witness about their faith than their fellow Christians in many other countries that are free and open.
