Chinese authorities have resorted to installing hi-tech surveillance devices in churches, The Christian Post has reported.
The newspaper reported that some of the devices being installed include face and fingerprint scanning.
China is one of the countries in the world where Christians are persecuted.
Christians faithful in the Asian country believe the development is yet another example of the ever-increasing amassing of power by the government.
The Christian Post quoted a report by Bitter Winter, a publication that explores human rights and religious freedom in China, that a facial recognition system that was placed in a government-controlled church, called the Three-Self Church, in Urumqi — the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region — is now being introduced elsewhere in China.
“On October 6, Muyang Church (literally Shepherding Church) in the central province of Hubei, which is also the home of the Two Chinese Christian Councils of Huangshi city, had two biometric devices set up on its second floor.
“Since then, congregation members have to stand in line to have their faces and fingerprints scanned before being allowed to enter the church,” the publication reported.
“Around the same time, in the city’s state-run Tian’en Church, facial recognition equipment has been also installed to check the believers who attend gatherings.”
The magazine was told by a worshipper that local authorities required every meeting venue established by Three-Self churches in Huangshi city to take the fingerprints of fellow believers and put on file their personal and family information.
“State surveillance of churches is not new in China. What is called the Sharp Eyes Project has long had a presence in state-run churches, with cameras placed even in washrooms of certain places of worship to ensure “comprehensive monitoring.