BAKKACIMA BLOG

  The Chinese government has faulted Pope Francis over a passage in his new book in which he mentions the suffering of China’s Uighur Muslim minority group, saying his remarks have “no factual basis at all”. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that  “People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and freedom of religious belief.” But  Zhao made no mention of the camps in which more than a million Uighurs and members of other Chinese Muslim minority groups are reported to be held. Other governments,  human rights groups and The  United States, says the prison-like facilities are intended to separate Muslims from their religious and cultural heritage, forcing them to declare loyalty to China’s ruling Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping. China, after initially denying the existence of the facilities, says they are centres intended to provide job training and prevent “terrorism” and religi

A Video footage from inside a Christian church in China shows officials raiding, violently dragging out members mid-service. ChinaAid, a Christian watchdog group on persecution in the most populous nation, posted the story this week from the church in the southeastern Fujian province. Xingguang Church attendees were seen in the video, attempting to block the entrance as police "officers confiscated phones and used brutal force against some Christian women as well," the group reports.