David Curry, the CEO of the U.S. Open Doors, recently wrote a column on why China's service monitoring system is a threat to Christians around the world.

When Curry visited China recently, he saw hundreds of cameras while taking a walk. He said he was not surprised to learn that China has about 415 million cameras. There is a possibility that 2 billion CCTVs will be installed on Chinese streets in the coming years.

Curry said, the Chinese government's pressure on the church community is now very evident. Even now pastors are being arrested and churches being closed. The cross on the steeples are also being removed.

Their first fear is that Christians pay more loyalty to Jesus than the Communists do. They want to extract this loyalty from the lives of Christians. There are many things that signal that such surveillance within the Chinese church is just beginning.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has developed an incredibly technologically advanced system to keep an eye on citizens who are considered a threat to the country. Face recognition software can pinpoint and distinguish individuals using CCTV.

Also, according to a recent report, China has asked all mobile phone operators to collect more files that have their faces scanned faces. Of course, the government will have easy access to it.

There is also a social credit system that was first introduced in 2014 and is expected to be fully integrated in the next few years. The credit system tracks individuals and assigns them ' scores ', which are based on the approval and trust of the government and other citizens. The score will determine whether or not the Chinese will travel or whether they will approve the loan.

"It doesn't take a big leap of imagination to see how this vast network of surveillance and control could be used against Christians. After all, Christians are followers of Jesus, and He doesn't fit nicely with a government that requires allegiance to a Communist state above everything" said Curry.

Curry continued to say "It's something that should guide our prayers as we think about God's people, living and worshiping in China. I hope you'll join me in praying for and supporting our sisters and brothers in China in 2020 and beyond.

According to the Open Doors China ranked 23rd on the 2020 World Watch List. China's list of persecution has been steadily rising and has jumped from 43rd to 23rd two years ago.