Beijing ( AsiaNews) - Police in the central province of Henan arrested the pastor Zhang Shaojie (see photo) , leader of the Church of Nanle County , and more than 20 Christian staff and faithful. The authorities have not stated the reason for detention, but some sources speaking to ChinaAid argue that the pastor has "angered" the authorities for the defense of his faithful against the abuses committed by Communist officials.
Zhang is part of the Three-Self
Movement, the "official" Protestant Church built by Mao Zedong in the
early years of his government. In China, only
registered religious groups are allowed. But
there are more unofficial Protestant Christians (about 80 million) than members
of the Three-Self Movement (about 20 million). Lest
the situation escape Party control, for almost five years there has been a
campaign to eliminate the underground communities or merge them into the
official ones.
According
to local sources, 48 years old Zhang's arrest could also arise from the desire
of the authorities to replace him as leader of the Christian in the area. In
any case, the faithful accuse the police of having "tricked " the pastor
by " inviting him for an interview" on 16 November. He has since disappeared into thin air. The
day after the police surrounded his church and stopped the faithful who wanted
to attend the Sunday service. The
police have threatened the faithful warning them not to go to the gatherings of
the church.
The
pastor's daughter, Zhang Huixin , told ChinaAid
that the authorities then raided the second community meeting and ordered the church
employees to " evacuate the place immediately." The
woman, her husband and their 10 month old daughter were forced to flee: at the
moment it is not clear where they are.