Shouwang Church

The church was founded in 1993 by Jin Tianming, a chemical engineering graduate of Tsinghua University of Korean ethnicity. Since then, the number of its members has increased from 10 to 1,000 as of June 2011. The services are conducted at members' homes or in rented conference rooms; its other activities include 40 biblical reading groups, choir practice and catechism. Shouwang members typically belong to the middle and upper classes, and include professors, doctors, lawyers, students and Chinese Communist Party members. ==Persecution==

Like other house churches, the Shouwang Church is subject to harassment by the Chinese authorities, who disapprove of religious groups that are not subject to state control. As of June 2011, several dozen Shouwang followers are detained every week and forced to sign a disavowal of their spiritual guide before being released, According to the German weekly Die Zeit, Beijing police use around 4,500 officers to provide surveillance of Zhongguancun Square and of the homes of about 500 church members, to prevent the church from congregating. == See also ==