Authorities in China have sent more than 100 Christians to ‘re-education’ camps to teach them how to be loyal to the communist country’s ideologies.
Most of the detained Christians came from the Uyghur ethnic minority group and are converts from Islam. They were taken to Xinjiang province, a region known as the most intensely surveilled area in the world, reports UK- based magazine Keep the Faith.
One Christian in Xinjiang compared the province to a prison. Police stations as well as surveillance cameras are found in every corner. He said everyone is being monitored in Xinjiang, even a person’s phone.
“The teacher in the school is paying special attention to my children after the authorities told the school about my husband.”
The Uyghurs have been targeted by the government in its so-called anti-terror campaign. The new Christians are caught in China’s fight against separatist groups and militants.
One of those detained in Xinjiang was a Christian leader, and his wife is worried about his safety. “I don’t know where my husband is right now, but I believe that God still uses him in prisons or camps,” she said.
She also revealed that even children are not exempted from the government’s monitoring. “The teacher in the school is paying special attention to my children after the authorities told the school about my husband.”
Another local church member disclosed that how long a Christian stays in Xinjiang varies. “Some stayed there for a month, others for half a year or even longer,” reports Breitbart.
Last year, the Chinese government prohibited all Christian activities outside state-approved churches and announced that the ban is part of Beijing’s “anti-terror” moves.
Some of the Christians in China have Muslim background and live in Xinjiang. It is reported that there are a few thousand Christian converts in the communist country.
Families of apostates consider changing of religion from Islam to Christianity as a betrayal. In addition to government’s persecution, new Christians suffer discrimination from their own families and communities.
Sources:
Keep the Faith
Breitbart
