Christian Persecution on the Rise in China?

My sister sent me this video today and when I watched it I was reminded of the following scriptures:

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 13:21

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Doctrine & Covenants 121:16-19, 23-24

16 Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.

17 But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.

18 And those who swear falsely against my servants, that they might bring them into bondage and death—

19 Wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house.

23 Wo unto all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them, saith the Lord of Hosts; a generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell.

24 Behold, mine eyes see and know all their works, and I have in reserve a swift judgment in the season thereof, for them all;

3 Nephi 12:10

 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 24:9-10

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

The Lord foresaw this time we are living in and spoke about it all throughout the scriptures. Leaders of the LDS Church have made much progress in China and have worked hard to build good relations - that can give us hope. It is estimated that over 60 million Chinese citizens are Christians. Though there are many restrictions at least people can purchase a physical copy of the Bible. I also maintain hope when I'm reminded of this post where I shared some positive insight about this issue from a mission president. Here is a link to the status of the Church and China. http://www.mormonsandchina.org/