Those running it have also been fined 200,000 yuan, or in excess of $27,000, an astronomical sum for the struggling independent Christian community, Bitter Winter reported.

The “Advance Notice of Administrative Penalty” issued by the Bureau of Ethnic and Administrative Affairs of the Jinshui district of Zhengzhou city clarifies that the fine has been imposed based on Article 70 of the Religious Affairs Regulation of 2017.

Article 70 stipulates inter alia that when 'religious education and training is carried out without authorization, the religious affairs department, together with the relevant departments, should order it to discontinue the activities, may impose a concurrent fine of between 20,000 and 200,000 yuan, and should confiscate the unlawful gains, if any; where a crime is found, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with the law', reported the news portal.

In the case of Yabo Academy, the maximum penalty has been imposed. Henan remains the Chinese province with the highest percentage of Christians not affiliated with the government-controlled Three Self Church. This situation mightily disturbs the CCP, and the repression of all independent Christian activities is consequently harsher than in other provinces.