International Christian Concern | June 9, 2020
A Catholic widow from Fuzhou city, Jiangxi province in her 60s, has been continuously threatened by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since last December. She must stop her belief in God, or the CCP will discontinue her government aid. Retired, and suffering from the economic hardships from COVID-19, her survival depends on the monthly government stipend. “The Communist Party feeds you, you must only believe in it, not God,” the officials told her.
Since she has refused to remove images of Jesus from her home, two months later, the pension was canceled.
Bitter Winter reports that other elder Christians face the same dilemma. In late April, the Civil Affairs Bureau threatened a paralyzed man in the same city for his faith in Jesus, after taking down his religious images. Only the CCP deserves the full allegiance of their citizens because they provide “five-guarantees,” aid for housing, food, clothing, medical care, and funeral expenses for people who cannot work and have no income.
The Christian shared, “The officials said that I am supposed to believe in the Communist Party since it feeds me, or else all my social benefits would be canceled.” He continued, “I won’t give up my faith no matter how the government pursues me. If it cancels my benefits, I will meet God earlier.”
Any Christian receiving government subsidies is under the threat of being abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Poverty alleviation aid is the most significant controlling factor for retired and dependent citizens, especially in rural China. One woman said, “By forcing me to remove the portrait of the Lord Jesus, the government tried to stop by belief in God, but they cannot take away my belief from my heart.”