Catholic nuns in China forced to leave the convent due to government harassment

Due to pressure from the Chinese government, eight Catholic nuns were allegedly forced to leave their convent in the northern province of Shanxi. Their current location has not been reported.

“Officials declared us 'dangerous people' and harassed us repeatedly,” said one of the nuns, according to Bitter Winter, an Italian magazine that deals with human rights and religious freedoms in China.

“They asked us to write down what we had done from kindergartens and to reveal everything we have done in the last few months. They even wanted us to remember the license plates of the vehicles we used on our travels “.

The nuns were constantly monitored by the Chinese Communist Party because they lived abroad and refused to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the state church run by the Communists, according to Bitter Winter.

The government has installed four surveillance cameras in the convent to monitor the nuns and their visitors, the magazine reports.

“Three people, a police officer and two local officials, were assigned to watch over us,” the nun said, according to Bitter Winter.

“They often went to the convent to inquire about our activities, sometimes at night. The government even hired some thugs and thugs to harass us. They went into the kitchen while we were cooking to joke or acted lasciviously, inviting us to dine with them “.

The nuns were also forced to remove religious symbols, such as crosses and statues of saints from inside the convent, or face the demolition of their convent.

“The cross is a symbol of salvation. Removing it was like cutting our own flesh, ”the sister said.

In recent months, Shanxi authorities have pressured people to replace religious symbols in their homes with images of President Mao and President Xi Jinping. Failure to comply can result in the government's removal of financial assistance for those affected by COVID-19.

Like much of the world, China's economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, which means large portions of citizens are being forced to rely on government payments. At the same time, the government oversaw a renewed crackdown on religious institutions, Bitter Winter reported.

"Poor religious families cannot receive money from the state for nothing - they must obey the Communist Party for the money they receive," said a member of the Three-Self Church, which is the official Protestant denomination of the Communist Party of China.

Bitter Winter reported on October 13 that a publishing house owner had been visited by officials a month earlier to make sure he was not printing religious material. The manager said he had to refuse any orders for religious texts.

“They checked my warehouse, went through all the records and even examined the sheets of paper on the floor to see if they had any prohibited content,” said the director of the printing house, located in Luoyang. "If such content is found, I will be fined or, worse, my business will be closed."

Last year, the Communist Party of China removed the 10 Commandments manifestations in churches in different parts of the country and replaced them with modified texts to better reflect Communist principles. Communist Party officials also announced they are working on a Communist-approved version of the Bible.

Even long-dead Christians have been subjected to persecution in China. Bitter Winter reported on October 16 that the previous month, Chinese authorities had demolished the tombstones of 20 Swedish missionaries, some of whom died over 100 years ago.