Sunzhuang Church was a church which was located in the Henan province in the People's Republic of China. The Sunzhuang Church was a church which was destroyed on June 12, 2020, when more than 200 Chinese Communist Party officials from different departments including the Zhengzhou High-Tech District's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau brought cranes and heavy-duty machinery to the area.
The church congregation had been part of China's network of government-run churches since the 1990s[1] The Sunzhuang Church joined the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in June 2012, when the communist government allowed the church to be built.[2]
However, in 2013 the Sunzhuang Village Committee issued a demolition notice, citing a failure to follow procedures for building the church. Church officials responded by presenting authorities with a certificate showing that they obtained prior government approval for church construction.[1] On July 24, 2013, and August 3, 2013, the doorway of the church was filled with tons of dirt, rocks, and rubble.[3] As demolition efforts began in 2013, government officials increased tension by cutting off the church's electricity and water supply.[3][1] The Chinese Communist crackdown on Christianity had paused in 2020 due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c "China demolishes government-run church after 7-year standoff". Fox News. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- ^ a b "China: 200 communist officials demolish church, beat Christians". 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- ^ a b "Zhengzhou: Sunzhuang Christian Church doorway blocked by debris for second time". 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
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