EGN NEWS DESK
The persecution of Christians in mainland China is spreading to Hong Kong, Release International has warned on the thirty fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square bloodbath.
The bloodbath in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989 introduced a brutal finish to pro-democracy protests and marked a rise within the persecution of Christians.
Release International stated that 35 years on, Christians in China are dealing with the worst ranges of persecution for the reason that Cultural Revolution and that the menace is spreading to Hong Kong, the place nationwide safety legal guidelines have had a chilling impact on free speech and non secular freedom.
The organisation, which helps persecuted Christians worldwide, stated {that a} new legislation may pressure Catholic monks in Hong Kong to disclose the secrets and techniques of the confessional.
Under Article 23, handed in March, monks might be jailed for as much as 14 months in the event that they refuse to reveal so-called crimes of treason shared throughout confession.
Release International associate Bob Fu stated that if monks have been compelled to violate the belief of Catholics coming to confession, “China will go down a really harmful path in the direction of persecution.”
Fu, who has spent years campaigning for non secular freedom in China, stated that many Christians had already left Hong Kong and that “their most popular vacation spot is the United Kingdom”.
He stated that Britain has an ethical obligation to face up for non secular freedom in its former colony.
“Hong Kongers predict the UK to face robust for his or her non secular freedom and to talk up for them, and to take all vital measures to guard those that flee persecution,” he stated.
A brand new report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says that China is tightening its grip on practising Christians, and that believers in Hong Kong and past China’s nationwide borders are being affected.
Release International CEO Paul Robinson stated, “The long-running crackdown on mainland China now seems to be extending to Hong Kong.
“Religious freedom is the cornerstone of all freedoms. Our companions describe the present crackdown on Christians because the harshest since Mao Tse Tung’s Cultural Revolution.
“Together we name on the world to get up and recognise the severity of the persecution in China that’s gathering tempo. This menace in opposition to Christians goes past their nationwide borders.”
