China

Three more Christians arrested in China

Mr. Xiao Bi-guang and Mr. Zhang Yi-nan were arrested last Friday morning in Ping Ding Shan city, Henan Province, China. Sources in China reported that more than 20 Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers made the arrest. The location where the two men are being held is unknown at this time. Their families have received no official notification, in violation of Chinese law which says the family of arrested persons will be notified of their location within 24 hours after arrest.

Chinese Officials Continue Campaign Against Underground Christians

The spread of the SARS virus has not distracted Chinese officials from their campaign against unregistered churches. At least 52 key house church leaders have been arrested in recent months. Police also arrested and fined hundreds of “ordinary” Christians in the first four months of 2003.

Largest Public Outreach by Christians in Afghanistan

LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) — “Advent in Afghanistan” may have been the largest public outreach by Christians to students in the history of Afghanistan. It began when Norm and Cher Nelson, from the radio ministry, Compassion Radio, accepted an invitation to take the experience of Christmas to 30,000 school children in 49 schools in an historic region of Afghanistan during late November and early December 2002.

Chinese Christian Family Beaten and Left in the Cold

At about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 5, 2003, approximately 10 unidentified men burst into the home of Brother Hua Huiqi and his wife, Ju Mei in Beijing. Forcing all of the members of the household, including Hua’s elderly parents, to lay on the floor, the attackers savagely beat the family, breaking one of the legs of Hua’s 80-year-old father. They then confiscated all of the home’s portable heaters, leaving the family to suffer from the cold of winter. It is believed that the intruders were either sent by the police or could even have been plain-clothes policemen.

Families of South China Church prisoners complain of injustice

The letter outlines inconsistencies between the way the retrial was handled by judges of the Jingmen City Middle Court and the mandates of China’s criminal court statutes. “The families of all the victims feel deeply sad and worried about the result,” the letter states. Complete text of the letter is available on the VOM web site at www.persecution.com.

South China Church Leaders Freed — Then Re-Arrested

Four female leaders of the South China Church, an unregistered house church network, were declared innocent by the Hubei Provincial Court on October 11. However, only hours after their release they were re-arrested by the Public Security Bureau and sent to three years of “re-education through labor.”

Urgent Appeal to Halt Execution of North Korean Christians

YUNNAN PROVINCE, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (ANS) — Christian Solidarity Worldwide is raising urgent concern for a group of North Koreans who are in the process of being sent back to North Korea, where they are in danger of execution.

Olympic spirits and global illusions

“What’s needed is …something analogous to the ancient acropolis, where today’s diversity of national and ethnic customs and religious traditions can be celebrated and upheld for the enrichment of everybody….The new acropolises will… provide opportunity for sacred expression needed to bind the people of the planet into a viable, meaningful, and sustainable solidarity.”[2] [Dean James Morton, Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, 1996 UN Conference on Human Settlements]

Presidential prayer team grows to more than 1 million members

It was launched Sept. 12 in Scottsdale, Ariz., by sculptor William Hunter to pray daily for President Bush, his cabinet and the nation in the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attacks. Now, six months after the tragic events that dampened the spirits of millions around the world, the Presidential Prayer Team has blossomed into 1,007,059 committed members.

Protests of Christian persecution gaining traction in U.S.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–The revelation by North Korea that it had engaged in a clandestine operation to develop nuclear weapons, contrary to promises made to the Clinton administration in 1994, thrust the Asian nation again into the news. However, many in the United States have had the communist nation on their minds and in their prayers for years for its shoddy record in human rights.

Gong’s “Accusers” Claim Torture Induced False Confessions

by Alex Buchan LONDON, January 31 (Compass)– In an attempt to ensure fair treatment of house church leader Gong Shengliang, six jailed female co-workers from the embattled South China Church authorized the release on January 29 of three letters detailing how they were tortured by police into providing false testimony against him. In a secret December trial, Gong was sentenced to death on charges of rape and arson, and of leading a cult. Although due to be executed on January 5, fifty-year-old Gong was granted permission to appeal his death sentence while on death row after international pressure was applied … Read more

China’s Persecution Dynamics

A crucial paradox lies at the heart of China’s persecution dynamics. Over the past 30 years, conditions have improved for Christians in China. But during the past five years, they have deteriorated markedly.

Chinese House Church Leader Granted Time to Appeal Death Sentence

LONDON, January 7 (Compass) — The forty-six-year-old founder of the “South China” house church movement, Gong Shengliang, was granted a reprieve from his death sentence, which was due to be carried out on Saturday, January 5. Gong was given a stay of execution, relatives said.

30 Chinese Christian Leaders Abducted

An uncertain number of leaders of a major house church movement in China have disappeared in what at first was thought to be a massive government raid. Now cult activity is suspected.

Worthy Christian News