[Fai Mao]

Have you ever been to China, much less attended a church in China? I have. If you had you’d the article is simply hogwash.

[EnderWiggin1970]

I served as operations manager for a Christian internationally-focused NGO. My director was a missionary to China in his early years and spent many years smuggling Bibles into China - he and other members of the team are now banned from entry. And so of course we have many contacts within the Chinese Christian community, and I have many contacts and play various bit roles working with Christians in restricted nations around the world.

So no, I personally haven't been to China, but I am rather more involved and familiar with things than the average commenter. My own focus has been more on Cuba and Central America, though I'm also deeply interested in Burma, serve on the board of a Pakistani Christian ministry, and have been approached about helping lead an Indian Christian ministry. (The latter are both in Punjab, which would put me in a situation similar to being a board member in ministries on both sides of the front line in Ukraine.)

Again, you denounce the article but without offering one iota of evidence. I could pile on with more evidence of this point, about the thousands of steeples the Chinese authorities have pulled down, the churches bulldozed and destroyed, the effort to replace Bibles with corrupted communist versions, the repression of house churches and so on. The existence of tame "model" churches and mosques and so on for show that are allowed by authorities are not a legitimate expression of freedom of religion in China. The Chinese communist party is fundamentally religious in nature, and cannot afford and does not tolerate serious competition.