Sunzhuang Church was a church which was located in the Henan province in the People's Republic of China. The Sunzhuang Church was a church which was destroyed on June 12, 2020, when more than 200 Chinese Communist Party officials from different departments including the Zhengzhou High-Tech District's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau brought cranes and heavy-duty machinery to the area.
The church congregation had been part of China's network of government-run churches since the 1990s [1] The Sunzhuang Church joined the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in June 2012, when the communist government allowed the church to be built. [2]
However, in 2013 the Sunzhuang Village Committee issued a demolition notice, citing a failure to follow procedures for building the church. Church officials responded by presenting authorities with a certificate showing that they obtained prior government approval for church construction. [1] On July 24, 2013, and August 3, 2013, the doorway of the church was filled with tons of dirt, rocks, and rubble. [3] As demolition efforts began in 2013, government officials increased tension by cutting off the church's electricity and water supply. [3] [1] The Chinese Communist crackdown on Christianity had paused in 2020 due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic. [2]
Sunzhuang Church was a church which was located in the Henan province in the People's Republic of China. The Sunzhuang Church was a church which was destroyed on June 12, 2020, when more than 200 Chinese Communist Party officials from different departments including the Zhengzhou High-Tech District's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau brought cranes and heavy-duty machinery to the area.
The church congregation had been part of China's network of government-run churches since the 1990s [1] The Sunzhuang Church joined the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in June 2012, when the communist government allowed the church to be built. [2]
However, in 2013 the Sunzhuang Village Committee issued a demolition notice, citing a failure to follow procedures for building the church. Church officials responded by presenting authorities with a certificate showing that they obtained prior government approval for church construction. [1] On July 24, 2013, and August 3, 2013, the doorway of the church was filled with tons of dirt, rocks, and rubble. [3] As demolition efforts began in 2013, government officials increased tension by cutting off the church's electricity and water supply. [3] [1] The Chinese Communist crackdown on Christianity had paused in 2020 due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic. [2]