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TechnoratiBut last summer, China did draw international attention when it expelled over 100 (84 are already confirmed by China Aid Association) foreign Christians from the country. Most of these Christians were from the West, but a few of them were from South Korea and other countries.
They were accused of evangelizing or being associated with local house churches and had their visas revoked. The massive expulsion was the largest of its kind since 1954 after the communist government took power in 1949.
China is listed as the 10th worst persecutor of Christians in the Open Doors 2008 World Watch List. Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog, describes China as a country with “many contradictions,” saying that while registered Christians have freedom to worship, house church Christians are harshly cracked down upon. It also noted that while sometimes the government exhibits “unprecedented politeness,” other times it raids and imprisons believers.
In the U.S. State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report released in September 2007, it states that China’s “respect for freedom of religion remained poor, especially for religious groups and spiritual movements that are not registered with the Government.” The annual report confirmed several raids on house churches.
China has an underground Christian population estimated to be as high as 100 million, although experts are quick to point out the difficulty in obtaining the real count.
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