(ETH) – While Christians for the most part in America are attending services and free from extreme persecution, Chinese authorities have unleashed relentless persecution against Christians in China within the first six months of 2020.

According to a recent report, In the first half of the year, over 900 crosses were reportedly removed from state-run churches across the Nation amid Xi Jinping’s ongoing crackdown on places of worship. According to a report from Bitter Winter, crosses were removed from over 250 state-run Three-Self churches in the eastern province of Anhui, which is home to the second-largest Christian population in China, in the first four months of the year.

The report went on to state that 656 state-run Protestant churches in the province also saw their crosses removed during the first half of this year as well.  A Church in the city’s Yingdong district was told by authorities that the cross-demolition campaign was part of national policy.


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“If a church refuses to remove its cross, congregation members may lose their social benefits, like pensions and poverty-alleviation subsidies, and possibilities for their children’s future employment will be affected,” a church member explained.

Another Church member revealed that the United Front Work Department officials who are responsible for removing crosses informed church congregants that any crosses taller than government buildings “must be demolished because they overshadow state institutions,”

“Only churches that look like enterprises are considered legal. To ‘sinicize’ Christianity, Xi Jinping does not allow churches to have Western crosses.”  The Church member also said that government officials warned an elder in the church that “protesting cross demolitions means protesting against the government.” “I feel sad thinking that all crosses in our church have been demolished,” the believer added. “Even though it is a symbol of our faith, who dares to disobey the central government order?”