China: Christian Taken Into Custody for Posting Commemoration of Tiananmen Square Massacre

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An evangelical Christian in south-west China was arrested and detained earlier this month after he commemorated the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in a social media post, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. The massacre took place on Jun. 2, 1989, when the ruling Chinese Communist Party used military force to kill hundreds of pro-democracy protestors.

A member of the heavily persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, Fu Lijun had posted his commemoration of the Tiananmen massacre on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app, ICC reports. Fu’s commemoration included a song and a prayer, defying the CCP’s prohibition on memorializing the anti-government protest.

On Jun. 4, Chengdu National Security Bureau agents came to Lijun’s home and arrested him, ICC reports. He was taken into custody and kept in administrative detention until Jun.10. “Although he is believed to have been freed, authorities will likely continue to monitor and harass Fu,” ICC said in its report.

“This incident is yet another in a long line of attacks and pressure Communist officials have made on Early Rain church members, who have suffered immense persecution in recent years,” ICC noted. “The church’s pastor, Wang Yi, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019. Authorities shuttered the church, but many members secretly meet in their homes.”

China ranks 19 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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