If we can trust reports out of China, which clearly we cannot, life there is “returning to normal” as the coronavirus is controlled.

But even at the height of their nationwide shutdown, one part of Chinese life never stopped being “normal.” As the magazine Bitter Winter reports, even while people died by the thousands from the coronavirus, “religious persecution remained a top priority” for Beijing.

“Some believers were arrested just because they prayed for coronavirus victims or shared epidemic-related photos and messages,” claims the report. One pastor, who called for a nine-day period of fasting and prayer, was arrested and had his cellphone, ID card, and passport confiscated.

In the view of government officials, acts of Christian charity “[endanger] social stability.” What that really means is any witness to God instead of Xi Jinping is unacceptable. Even in a pandemic, insecure would-be “saviors” like Xi cannot relax efforts to repress the truth.