China denies declaring war on Christians after mega-church is razed
Communist Party officials have rejected claims they have launched an orchestrated campaign to slow the spread of Christianity in China, after demolition teams razed a church in a city known as the "Jerusalem of the East". The Sanjiang church in Wenzhou, a wealthy coastal city in Zhejiang province with one of China's largest Christian populations, was reduced to rubble on Monday night of April 28 after excavators spent the day tearing parts of the building down. Congregants accused the provincial government, which is controlled by Xia Baolong, an ally of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, of promoting an orchestrated anti-church campaign in order to slow Christianity's rapid growth. |