As part of its all-encompassing campaign to eliminate religious venues that are not part of state-controlled churches, the CCP is implementing measures to lure the population to inform on believers in exchange for money. As in the widely-publicized case of bounty hunters in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern province of Guangdong, when residents were offered substantial monetary rewards to tip-off the police about any “illegal religious activities.” According to an edict, issued by the Guangzhou City Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, such activities include: “construction of temples without approval, or of Buddha statues built without authorization, the private organization of pilgrimages, gathering in unauthorized Christian meeting venues, illegal online proselytizing, unauthorized religious training, unauthorized printing of religious publications, etc.”
Coupled with other means of suppression, such as threatening the landlords of religious venues with fines of up to $30,000, congregations of house churches and other “unofficial” places of worship have been deprived of any possibility to practice their faith.
Coupled with other means of suppression, such as threatening the landlords of religious venues with fines of up to $30,000, congregations of house churches and other “unofficial” places of worship have been deprived of any possibility to practice their faith.
