Officials Demolish Catholic Church, Beat Catholics in Pingtang, Fujian Province

Officials demolished an unregistered Catholic church and beat several Catholics who attempted to prevent the demolition on Pingtang Island in Fujian province on September 1, according to a September 4 AsiaNews report. The AsiaNews account said that officials warned the Catholics that they would demolish another unregistered Catholic church on the same island.

Pingtang Island has a Catholic population of about 10,000 people, according to the Guide to the Catholic Church in China 2004. Local officials there have beaten Catholics in the past. In July 2005, for example, officials detained a priest and nine parishioners, and beat other parishioners, according to a July 2005 report of the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CKF), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China. Similarly, officials destroyed the altar of a Pingtang church in August 2000 and beat parishioners that were worshipping there, according to a September 2000 CKF report.

In August 2006, officials demolished two unregistered Protestant churches in Zhejiang province.

For more information on Catholics in China, see the CECC 2006 Annual Report, Section V(d).