ChinaAid Releases Annual Persecution Report 2009
Click here to read the full "Annual Report by the Government on Christian House Churches within Mainland China, January 2009 - December 2009."
The Introduction to International and Chinese contexts outlines the influences of economics, politics, and social changes that shape and influence the persecution trends. The Review and Summary and List of Persecution Case Charts describe the 77 cases reported by ChinaAid last year. They reveal five trends of persecution, including the targeting of House Church Leaders and the House Church Movement in urban areas, and the new efforts to force churches to stop gathering for worship, severely punish Christians with long-term imprisonment and heavy fines, and enact tighter control of the Three-Self Church. The Charts provide basic details of the cases, including the number of people involved, name of church and location, and a description of the case. Links to detailed reports are provided for additional information.
The report notes the recent historical transition of Chinese society from the feudal-model to a citizenship model as influence on the success of the House Church Movement, and a new tri-colored market model is introduced to understand church persecution trends in China. Churches and religious groups are categorized as being in the red market (officially and legitimately approved by the Chinese Communist government), the black market (officially banned or illegal), and the gray market (ambiguous legal status). The Epilogue expounds upon the application of the model as it relates to the data collected and summarized in the preceding sections.

