Posting evangelical Christian content on the Internet or via social media without the permission of the Communist Party has been declared illegal in China.
Under the new regulations, only the five officially sanctioned religions — Tri-Self Church Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Taoism, Buddhism and Islam — will be eligible to apply for a special license.
Measures for the Administration of Religious Information Services on the Internet now prohibit Chinese house churches from sharing anything of a religious nature online.
John 3:16
Bob Fu, founder of religious freedom group ChinaAid, said: “If you post religious content on the internet without a license, it is declared completely illegal.
Christians will be cut off from accessing online spiritual resources
He added that even with a permit, sharing “John 3:16, or the Great Commission of Matthew 28” would be considered subversive of state power and prohibited.
A Chinese Christian told Open Doors, “This new law now puts an end to the church’s heavy use of the internet for evangelism and spiritual nourishment.
“As a result, Christians will be cut off from accessing online spiritual resources.”
turn the screw
Last year, the Chinese Communist Party introduced new measures requiring “authorized” religious leaders to be registered in a national database.
To be registered – and remain on the register – leaders must belong to one of five state-recognized religions, “support the leadership of the Communist Party of China” and not be “dominated by foreign forces”.
For the second year in a row, Open Doors has ranked China among the twenty worst offenders in its annual ranking of the countries where Christians are most severely persecuted.
Also see:
Global State Harassment of Christians Revealed
Christians are ‘harassed’ in more than 100 countries, says major report
Government plans to provide all recommendations of persecution report by 2022
Christians in India expect further persecution amid fears over conversion law
