Today parents are forbidden to tell their children about Christ. House churches are outlawed. Members meticulously hand-copy portions from the only Bible they have. Leaders are imprisoned, even martyred. Clan organizations, which were supposed to have been wiped out in the 1950s, have become the centers of power in counties with low income and education levels, according to internal circulars issued by government security units.
Rural cadres say clan activities have siphoned off badly needed funds for agriculture and education.
One clan in central China boasts more than 30,000 members from three generations. Among the businesses represented were Texaco, Pfizer, Domino's Pizza, Metropolitan Life Insurance, Coudert Bothers, Merrill Lynch, Westvaco Corporation, Unilever, and ICCI Telecom. Drug taking is spreading through Guangdong, leaving school students addicted in its wake, Zhu warned. Authorities sent 11 task forces to various cities to promote an anti-drug campaign. Guangzhou police arrested 212 people suspected of drug trafficking on the first day of the campaign.