China: Township Gov’t Suppresses Christianity; Confiscates Bibles
The government of Mengka Township in Yunnan Province has a long history of suppressing the spread of Christianity by persecuting missionaries and banning personal Bibles.
China
Blind Chinese Activist Flees To US Embassy
A blind activist who became a symbol of the fight more religious and political rights in China has fled to the United States embassy in Beijing after escaping from house arrest, but others close to him have been detained, Christian rights activists told Worthy News.
Pakistan Among World’s Worst Violators of Religious Freedoms
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the Secretary of State name Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern in its 2012 Annual Report.
China Frees Prominent House Church Leader; Others Detained
China has unexpectedly released a prominent house church leader from prison amid international concerns about his health, his family and rights activists confirmed Monday, September 19.
Chinese Christians Suffer Supporting Shouwang Church
Last Sunday five members of a house church in Fangshan tried to worship with members of the embattled Beijing Shouwang house church in a public square in Beijing.
Chinese House Church Leaders Criminally Detained
Fifteen house church leaders from remote regions of China are being detained while local police attempt to extort money from their families for their release.
House Church Pastor In China Detained
Pastor Shi Enhao, deputy chairman of the Chinese House Church Alliance, has been sentenced to two years of “re-education through labor,” an extra-judicial punishment handed out by police that requires no trial or conviction of a crime, Worthy News has learned.
China claims Christian used “superstition” to undermine law enforcement
A leader in China’s growing underground church movement who disappeared last month was actually in police custody.
Held on “suspicion of using superstition to undermine national law enforcement,” Shi Enhaoi is one of 150 million Chinese Christians who refuse to join the Communist Party’s Three-Self Patriotic Movement: the only officially sanctioned Protestant church on the mainland.
Chinese Expel Shouwang Church Member from Beijing
Chinese authorities recently expelled yet another member of Beijing’s largest unregistered house churches.
Chuan Liang was the second member of the Shouwang “keeping watch” Church to be expelled from the city since authorities compelled the congregation to meet outdoors; the first expulsion came after Shouwang Church held its fifth consecutive outdoor Sunday worship service when 15 members were taken to 10 police stations across Beijing, but most were released within 24 hours.
Uzbek Christians Suffer as Regime Tightens Noose
At least four incidents of Christian persecution were reported from the former Soviet country of Uzbekistan this week. According to an analysis and report researched and written by Fernando Perez for the World Evangelical Alliance – Religious Liberty Commission, a Christian woman was beaten into concussion, another woman was fined $1,465 by a court for giving the New Testament to a child, a Christian man was threatened with axe attack by a police official and another man was assaulted by police.
China Detains House Church Members in Beijing
Police detained 16 more members of Beijing’s Shouwang House Church and placed others under house arrest: two were held in protective custody while the rest were sent to 10 different police stations; most were released by Sunday morning.
Prayer Center Complex Destroyed by Chinese Government
A prayer center complex, known as “Prayer Mountain”, was destroyed in China after several elderly Christians were forcibly removed, and then watched helplessly as their building was demolished according to ChinaAid, Worthy News has learned.
China Christian Dissident Gao Zhisheng “Alive”
One of China’s best known Christian dissidents, missing for over a year and feared dead, is apparently alive and staying in mountains known for Buddhist pilgrimages, Worthy News monitored Tuesday, March 30.
BREAKING NEWS: World Vision Suspends Pakistan Operations After Militants Kill Staff
The US-based Christian charity World Vision said Wednesday, March 10, it has suspended operations in Pakistan after militants stormed its offices, killing six staff members and injuring several others.
China Detains Prominent Church Leader During Restaurant Raid
Chinese security forces detained a prominent house church leader Thursday, March 4, at a restaurant in southern China where he and a dozen other Christians had lunch, Chinese Christians said.
BREAKING NEWS: North Korea Releases American Missionary
Amid international pressure, North Korea released an American missionary Saturday, February 6, and sent him to China after holding him for more than a month, officials confirmed.
Chinese Christian Rights Lawyer 363 Days Missing
A Chinese Christian human rights lawyer was missing for 363 days Tuesday, February 2, but an advocacy group said it now believes he is still alive.
Massive New Year and Christmas Attacks In Arab World, Africa, Asia
Rights investigators said Wednesday, January 13, there has been “a surge ofattacks” against Christians since December, with deaths, detentions and destruction reported in the Arab world, Africa and Asia.
American Missionary Captured In North Korea Inspired By Biography (Investigation)
A young American missionary, who has reportedly been detained for illegally entering North Korea on Christmas Day, was inspired to go there by a biography about the “first Christian martyr” of present day North Korea, an e-mail suggests.
NEWS ALERT: China Sentences 10 Christian Leaders To Prison, Labor Camps
China has sentenced 10 Christian leaders to long prison terms and forced labor camps as part of a wider government crackdown on unauthorized worship services, Worthy News learned Saturday, December 5.