Jul 12, 2007 / 09:01 am
The Chinese government is currently running its largest expulsion campaign of foreign missionaries since 1954, reports an organization that works with the persecuted Church in China.
In a July 10 press release, the China Aid Association stated a central government-directed campaign to expel suspected foreign missionaries has been ongoing since February 2007. The groups says this is the largest expulsion since 1954, when the Chinese Communist government expelled all foreign religious workers after taking power in 1949.
According to reliable China Aid sources and collaborated reports by at least five different mission agencies, over 100 foreigners accused of being involved in illegal religious activities in China have been expelled or forced to leave this year between April and June.
Sources inside the Chinese government informed China Aid that the government launched a massive expulsion campaign of foreign Christians, encoded Typhoon No. 5, in February 2007. This campaign is believed to be part of the “anti-infiltration” efforts to prevent foreign Christians from engaging in mission activities before the Beijing Olympics next year.