from End of The American Dream:
Be very thankful that you don’t live in China. Approximately one out of every seven people on the entire planet lives in China, and it has become one of the most dystopian societies that the world has ever seen. Surveillance cameras, government spies and facial recognition scanners are everywhere, and the totalitarian “social credit score” system that is currently being rolled out is an absolute nightmare. And the Chinese government is not content to simply control how people behave. They also want to literally control what people believe, and the ongoing crackdown on the Christian faith has been absolutely brutal. Over the past several years, scores of pastors have been arrested, countless underground churches have been shut down, and thousands of Bibles have been burned. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for Chinese officials, and so they have now taken things to an entirely new level.
When the communists first came to power in China, it was a very dark time for Christians. But underground churches started blossoming even in the midst of the persecution, and eventually there were a few decades where the national government more or less tolerated unsanctioned gatherings. Today, it has been estimated that there are more than 100 million Christians in China, and it is being projected that China may actually have more Christians that any other nation on the planet by the year 2030.
Needless to say, the communists don’t like any threats to their power, and they see this underground movement as a very serious threat.
Under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the persecution of unofficial churches has steadily escalated. This year they actually tried to ban Christians from gathering on Christmas, and a series of new regulations has just been introduced that requires “total submission to the Chinese Communist Party at all times”…
A new mandate entitled “Administrative Measures for Religious Groups” has been approved by the CPC and is comprised of six chapters and 41 articles dealing with the organization, functions, offices, supervision, projects and economic administration of religious communities.
The new rules also seek to ensure that religious leaders support, promote and implement total submission to the Chinese Communist Party at all times.
So what does that sort of “submission” look like?
Well, in some cases officials have required churches to take down pictures of Jesus and replace them with pictures of President Xi Jinping.
Yes, this is how twisted things have become in China.
The new regulations also require all churches to “spread the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party” in all of their activities…
According to International Christian Concern, Article 5 of the new ordinance reads that “religious organizations must adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, observe the constitution, laws, regulations, ordinances and policies, adhere to the principle of independence and self-government, adhere to the directives on religions in China, implementing the values of socialism …”
In addition, Article 17 specifies that all religious organizations “must spread the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party” in everything they do.
Any church that does not go along is likely to be raided and shut down at any time.
For example, Pastor Wang Yi once led one of the most important underground churches in all of China, but his church was raided and he was arrested.
And now we have learned that he has just been sentenced to nine years in prison…
Wang Yi, a leader in one of the most well-known Christian congregations in China, has been quietly sentenced to nine years in prison, according to a statement on the website of the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengdu Municipality.
The sentencing is the latest incident in an ongoing crackdown on organized religion in China. Early Rain Covenant Church, which Wang founded in 2008, attracted about 500 followers and was considered one of the most influential “underground churches” in China, operating independently of the state……..
Read the full article here.
True Discernment 
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