How American Technology Helps China Persecute Its Christians

Technologies evolved from U.S. hardware and software are used to surveil and arrest China’s people, especially minorities and those with religious beliefs.

When Chinese authorities raided the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu in 2018, Li Yingqiang, the sole church elder to temporarily escape custody, placed his children in the care of another family and went into hiding.

The leaders of Early Rain thought they had prepared for a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) crackdown, yet their efforts were to no avail. More than 100 out of 500 church members were arrested in the 2018 raid, including Early Rain’s leader, Pastor Wang Yi. Authorities later sentenced Wang to nine years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business activities” following a quick, closed-door trial.

Wang had intentionally gained weight to prepare for brutal prison conditions and drafted his “Letter from a Chengdu Jail” to be released upon his arrest. In it, Wang wrote: “Those who lock me up will one day be locked up by angels. Those who interrogate me will finally be questioned and judged by Christ.”

While he was referring to members of the CCP, if Yi’s predictions are true, some of America’s largest technology companies may face judgement as well.

Today, thanks in part to Silicon Valley, Christian worshippers across China must use an app that contains their biometric data and other personal information to enter state-sanctioned churches. Services are recorded by surveillance cameras as Chinese authorities analyze and censor the content of sermons. Voice recognition and digital surveillance software tracks their activity and conversations in and out of church.

These technologies, evolved from U.S. hardware and software, are the product of a decades-long project to surveil China’s people, especially members of minority groups. While this system was first implemented and perfected in Xinjiang, where the majority Uyghur population is Muslim, it is now being used to target Christians throughout China.

China Built a System of Repression in Xinjiang – With U.S.