China has reportedly detained 21 Japanese this month

There will always be those that think they are above the law and they are not.

@ Haruka

How can you make such a comment like that with so little information??

All we know is that they were a missionary group, in most countries it would be the rated but we all know how paranoid China can be.

Meant to say, “in most countries tolerated..”

Well, let's hope they are not singling out just one nationality for such treatment of missionaries. Or are they?

Their country, their rules. Right guys?

It isn't said which particular Christian group it was---it would be interesting to know.

I am so angry about this. This is like a declaration of war. Kidnapping Political prisoners. Release them now, PRC.

Christian's think rules don't apply to them?

Appears to me that China is trying to protect their people from things that come with Christianity, which tends to alter local cultures.

Not everyone believes that Christianity is harmless.

You guys realize that they're detaining anyone with religious beliefs at all, right? Even if they had them before taking over their country? Please look up the internment camps that they've started. There are millions in internment camps at this point. It's really scary stuff. They've taken their passports and locked them up.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/16/world/asia/ap-as-china-xis-era-mass-internment.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/25/china-bans-religious-names-for-muslims-babies-in-xinjiang

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/03/china-restriction-ramadan-xinjiang-uighurs

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/13/china-minority-region-collects-dna-millions

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38093370

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/03/30/china-jails-a-muslim-for-six-years-for-refusing-to-shave-his-beard/?utm_term=.3e432a935bca

Appears to me that China is trying to protect their people from things that come with Christianity, which tends to alter local cultures.

True. No room for a christian god, when you already have you're god selected for you residing in Beijing.

No freedom of religion in China then?

Funny funny how it is that the only major religion that seems to get their panties in a knot about their so-called missionaries being detained/bothered/burned at the stake or whatever through the centuries are christians. most non majority christian countries (and now that I think of it, quite a few predominantly christian countries as well) would probably prefer if people didn't go around door to door actively encouraging people to reject their own beliefs and accept their self-proclaimed, 'one true faith'.

One can only one can only imagine in today's political climate if a bunch of sincere Muslims went door-to-door in the US trying to convert Christians. There'd be blood in the streets.

Not sure about China, but north Korea's constitution is actually the most democratic in the world...on paper. Pity the lawyers and judges and press aren't independent amongst other things.

In reality, it's a monarchical dictatorship nominally communist. I don't want anyone thinking I was praising them. Just showing the dichotomy.

troublemakers ?

Christophobia is real.

Both in this message section and in China.

Why do Christian missionaries think they are above the law? Ask any Christian and they’ll say the Bible teaches to obey the law.

Let your yes be yes is another teaching I’ve heard. But asked what their purpose is in visiting the country, they’ll say to teach English. To a Christian missionary, partial truths is still truth

Then they ask you for money. It’s not enough that they break the law, they want you to fund their illegal activities

Religions are like drugs. Only useful in limited amounts, if they cannot be avoided.

No freedom of religion, shameful.

All we know is that they were a missionary group, in most countries it would be the rated but we all know how paranoid China can be.

I believe Proselytism, especially those from foreign religious groups, is illegal in China, right?

There were reports of foreign Christian groups trying to convert Muslims in Xinjiang and China put at stop to that as well.

You should try to respect other countries laws when visiting.

No freedom of religion, shameful.

But how far should freedom of religion go? Allowing circumcision of children, allowing action against apostates, allowing smoking of marijuana, etc.?

I'm interested to know more about these Japanese Christians. Why are they not doing their missionary work closer to home? There seem to be plenty of Japanese to convert. Maybe they're smart enough to recognize a lost cause.

@Ritsku, thanks for the links. Even if only partly true, it points to the madness of trying regulate a billion people from a central bureaucracy.

I'm interested to know more about these Japanese Christians. Why are they not doing their missionary work closer to home?

My wife gave me a bit of a roasting for that comment. She pointed out that they may not have been missionaries, but perhaps just members of a Christian group in Japan visiting members of the same group in China. She said there have been similar situations with other religious groups.

Since neither this article nor the main Japanese press gives us any further information it is difficult to evaluate this news.

We have to suppose that a certain sect of Japanese Christians sent their missionaries over with little preparation somewhere around April (?), I guess, and that they soon came to the notice of the authorities who cleaned them up around the second week of May. Their Japaneseness may therefore be only incidental to the story, and it may point more to the nature of modern sects sprouting up here and there in this part of the world.

Why am I not surprised about this? China recently banned the sale of the Bible and increased monitoring of religious groups, particularly on Christians and Muslims. China is becoming compulsive of its internal security. And a Japanese Christian group? I'm surprised they're even allowed to go inside the country.

I am pretty sure that the most people who are commenting here are living or lived in Japan and at least once experienced annoying and aggressive religous groups knocking early morning on weekends. Do you think it is a religious freedom to knock someone's door and distrub privacy and private time on weekend? My wife cannot go out with chidlren she is so scared of them because they are so aggressive. This changed our mind that all japanese people are polite and kind. There should be a clear line between religios freedom and forcing someone to be in their religion.

My wife is Japanese and she is religious and we visited China for twice for tourism purpose but never been arrested. When Japanese people were detained in another country, they immediately blame other country. We have heard Japanese caught with illegal drugs in Malaysia, we have heard Japanese caught with illegal surrogacy in Thailand, we have heard Japanese caught with a crime in Germany, we have heard Japanese caught in fake telephone calls for asking money in China, an dthe list goes on. But their TV never shows it.

you have no idea what goes inside in the name of "religious freedom" to another country. Remember Aum Shinrikyo, Soka Gakkai, Happy Science, and the list goes on again here.