Video footage captured during a church service in the Fujian province in southeastern China shows strong-armed government officials raiding worshippers as they gather together.
In the short clip, released over the weekend by ChinaAid, a nonprofit organization focused on exposing human rights violations, communist officers can be seen dragging a man away from his fellow congregants, who fight back against the officials, trying to stop them from taking the man.
WATCH the disturbing incident below:
According to ChinaAid:
In a video taken at the scene, officers and attendees of Xingguang Church shout as they engage in a physical altercation. As they block the entrance, officials drag a Christian to the door, with other congregants fighting along with him.
The advocacy organization said more information about the incident is forthcoming. Faithwire has reached out to ChinaAid for additional details.
This kind of broad government overreach is becoming increasingly commonplace in communist China. In fact, last week, one journalist was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he penned a blog post detailing the restrictive regime’s corruption.
And in late April, news broke about the arrest of a Protestant pastor being charged with “subversion.” According to a report, Zhao Huaiguo, who leads Bethel Church in Cili, was detained on April 2 after police raided his home on March 14.
The pastor’s wife, Zhang Xinghong, said she believed police were targeting her husband because “he had posted or forwarded something from overseas to do with the coronavirus epidemic,” which began in Wuhan, China.
However, it should be noted Zhao had refused to affiliate his church with the state-mandated denomination, known as the “Three-Self Patriotic Association,” giving the government control over his congregation. Additionally, government officials subsequently returned to their home on April 15, when they confiscated church-related documents they deemed “illegal.”