Authorities in communist China have sent more than 100 Christians, mostly converts, from the Muslim Uighur-majority province of Xinjiang to “re-education camps” that teach loyalty to the country’s ruling party, reports Keep the Faith magazine, citing Open Doors, an organization that monitors the persecution of Christians.
“For Christians from a Muslim or a Tibetan Buddhist background, conversion is more than just changing religion, it is betraying a community,” notes the U.K.-based magazine. “They are threatened, attacked and reported to the local authorities.”
“Another persecution driver is the Communist government,” adds Open Doors in its 2018 list of the top 50 countries for Christian persecution. “Christians, in particular, are hedged in by authorities, as they are the largest social force in China not controlled by the state.”
Christians in Xinjiang, which borders Afghanistan, have reportedly been caught up in the crossfire of Beijing’s counterterrorism crackdown against separatists and jihadists from China’s oppressed Uighur (or Uyghur) ethnic minority.
Keep the Faith reveals:
More than 100 Christians have been sent to ‘re-education’ camps in China’s north-western Xinjiang province over the past few months according to Open Doors sources. These ‘mind-transformation centers’ teach citizens to be loyal to the communist ideology.Most of those detained are from the Uyghur ethnic minority group and have a Muslim background. In recent years the Uyghurs they have been the prime targets of the government’s ‘anti-terror’ campaign, aimed at cracking down on both separatist groups and militant Islamists. Uyghur people who have converted to Christianity have also been caught up in the crackdown.
While Afghanistan ranks No. 2 in Open Doors list of the worst countries for Christians, China is number 43. READ MORE
