Beijing forces churches to close

BEIJING (AP) — Followers of an unapproved church in Beijing were again forced by the government to find a new place to worship Sunday, a move one analyst suggested would be a test for President Barack Obama on religious freedom during his first visit to the country.

Worship in China, governed by the officially atheist Communist Party, is allowed only in state- approved churches, but millions of people belong to unregistered churches that often face official harassment.

Sunday’s banishment was the latest for the Shouwang church, one of the largest underground churches in China with about 800 members. It was forced to have services in a park earlier this month after being kicked out of a rented indoor area. Photos and a video posted on the church’s Web site, which was later blocked, showed hundreds of members gathered, holding snow-flecked umbrellas and Bibles.

On Sunday, police blocked church members again from meeting at the park, and hundreds ended up at a performance hall elsewhere in the city.

District police referred questions to the Beijing public security bureau, where calls rang unanswered Sunday. Calls to the State Religious Affairs Bureau also went unanswered.

Another well-known underground church in Shanghai, Wanbang, also has been told to close.

Harassing the two prominent unregistered churches is likely to intimidate other smaller churches. Members of the Beijing church said Sunday they have never experienced such harassment from authorities before.

Obama is being closely watched during his visit for signs he will speak out on human rights, including religious freedom. Leaders of churches such as Shouwang said if Obama doesn’t speak up, the Chinese government will crack down even more.

“Sometimes before a major U.S. visit, Chinese authorities show goodwill and release someone. But this time, it’s the opposite,” said Yang Fenggang, director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. “I tend to think this is a test case.”

Activists and others in China say the U.S. may not want to risk angering China when it needs cooperation on issues such as climate change and the financial crisis.