Dr Paul Allen

COURTESY OF CHINA AID Weibo photos of recent cross removals. When a megachurch's walls  came tumbling down in China's Jerusalem  last month, the forced demolition drew widespread international attention thanks to photos circulating on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. Now, Weibo photos have documented how local authorities have continued their campaign this May to de- Christianize the skyline of wealthy Wenzhou , one of China's most Christian cities, and surrounding areas. IMAGE: WEIBO A cross removed from a Wenzhou-area church The latest in the reported "Three Rectifications and One Demolition" campaign comes from the city of Ningbo, where famous missionary James Hudson Taylor once worked. Officials have ordered services to halt at the 1,000-member Xiaying Holy Love megachurch, and  demolition work has reportedly already begun after the church refused to tear down the large cross atop its 10-story building. Meanwhile,  The New York T

PHOTO FROM CHINESE SOCIAL MEDIA (SUBMITTED TO CT) Despite the effort of hundreds of Chinese Christians who formed a " human shield " to defend their brand-new megachurch, reports of its demolition have emerged from southern China . Wenzhou 's Sanjiang Church—an impressive eight-story structure that government officials previously called a "model project"—took six years and  $3.2 million  in donations to build, according to  The Washington Post . The congregation is listed under the  government-approved   Three-Self Patriotic Movement ,  reports   AsiaNews , yet it occupies five times more square feet than what regulations originally designated— complicating the common narrative  of "atheist government persecutes Christians." Image: World Watch Monitor While excavators spent Monday, April 30, tearing down the church, Communist Party officials  insisted the destruction was because of city zoning, not religious persecution, reports