'If China banned exports, the United States will fall into the hell of a new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic' the communist-controlled paper threatened.
'Chinese authorities subjected Catholic believers in China to increased persecution by demolishing churches, removing crosses, and continuing to detain underground clergy.'
Churches throughout China have been forced to remove displays of the Ten Commandments and religious imagery and replace them with quotes and portraits of President Xi Jinping.
Several of the faithful involved in the protest believe the government has been emboldened in its persecution of religious groups by the Sino-Vatican agreement.