Dear Mr. Krivoscheine,

Alas, what is written above appears to be true. Our local "Christmas" dinner, which has happened every year since I have been around, was "cancelled sinae qua non" for "business reasons" and will be rescheduled "at a later date" (Soviet style).

The local, non-religious celebrations consisting of Santa Klaus, the reindeer, lollipops and the like was also cancelled for "business reasons".

It has been a somber and depressing end-of-the-year around here.

Hai LIn

Bonjour,

Battues, torturées, mutilées, 18 personnes ont cruellement perdu la vie en Chine, persécutées pour leur foi.

Ce webdocumentaire traite du Christianisme au sein de « l'Empire du Milieu » où les Chrétiens sont les victimes de la répression brutale du « PCC » Parti communiste chinois.

(FR-ENG) => Activez les sous-titres sur Youtube

Meilleures salutations
S. Fardel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgBfj4OQkDA&t=106s

Dear Friends in France and beyond,

Indeed, things in Mainland China have gone from bad to worse in terms of the Chinese State and religion.

If there was a smattering of tolerance between 1992 - 2014, those days are long gone. It compares in the same manner to the antireligious campaigns of Nikita Krustschev and Mme Furtseva in the 1950's.

Churches are being demolished at an astonishing rate ... and this includes both officially sanctioned churches and underground churches. The central government apparently makes no distinction between the two at present.

In another forum on this site, the question was raising of the ordination of Chinese citizens as clegy in the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church. My very, very reliable contacts in Beijing tell me that this is not about to happen at all and that the orders have come down right from the top of the Central Committee.

Additionally, the religious meanderings, to write politely, of Pope Francis and his almost Chamberlain-like capitulation to the Central Committee have deeply wounded the Chinese Catholic Church, both its underground members and its official members in the show churches.

Protestantism continues to thrive, however, in China, as the North American Protestants pour huge amounts of religious money into funding hospitals, and orphanages and clinics in the more backward provinces. The funds do not establish private religious hospitals but they do establish private and charitable sectarian hospitals and orphanages and the like. The only caveat from Beijing is that these institutions cannot have titles with religious overtones and thus they do not.

Additionally, I have learned that the police presence around the Russian Embassy in Beijing this year was particularly tight on the Eve of Pascha. Only foreign citizens are technically admitted to the Orthodox Church on the Embassy grounds but Chinese have been known to make it in on the occasion. This year, the documents of everyone seeking access to the Embassy church was thoroughly checked and rechecked via a mobile computer link. This was never seen before.

In years past, the Catholic Church in Beijing put a church at the disposition of the Beijing Orthodox for their Pascha services. I have NOT been able to confirm whether or not this happened this year. In the past approximately 250 Chinese Orthodox would faithfully attend the Pascal Vesperal office.

I send you all my very best Easter greetings.

Hai Lin 海琳 and family