China

On Cults, Leaders and Politics in China

ANHUI

“Here we only have one registered church, which is packed out with people standing in the courtyard. However, since the church was opened, none of the accounts listing all the believers’ donations have ever been made public to them. The pastor has dismissed several Christians who originally were responsible for the finances. He also hands over the donations to the Religious Affairs Bureau to use. Not long ago, several elderly believers formed a church, but the Three Self pastor asked the Religious Affairs Bureau not to grant them a license and called the police to come and arrest them. Can such a church be blessed by God? How can it cause the gospel to spread?”

— Letter from a Christian in Anhui dated March 29, 2000

Christian Youth Work Under Attack in China

LONDON (Compass) — Last July, authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui moved to discourage Christian work with young people through an article that appeared in the local Anhui “Xinan Evening News.”

2 Christians killed, others tortured in Chinese Government crackdown

WASHINGTON (BP)–Two Christians have been killed in the Chinese government’s crackdown on pastor Gong Shengliang and his South China Church in central Hubei Province, according to a letter from members of the underground church revealing graphic details and new information about the persecution.

Chinese Christians Pay Ultimate Price

Soon after winning the right to host the 2008 Olympics, China is showing the world that being a non-registered Christian is a most dangerous sport.

VOM Calls on Christians to Pray for Chinese Pastor Sentenced to Death

South China Church Pastor Gong Shengliang to be executed within days if his appeal is denied

The Voice of the Martyrs is making an urgent appeal to Christians around the world to pray for Pastor Gong Shengliang. Pastor Gong was reportedly sentenced to death last month after a court in Hubei Province declared him guilty of using an “evil cult” to “undermine the enforcement of the law” and of “complicity of rape.”

Courageous Christians Imprisoned for 15 Days (China)

The Voice of the Martyrs rejoiced to learn yesterday that Chinese Christian “Sister Tong” has been released from prison following a 15 day prison sentence. A VOM worker in the area was able to pass financial support and encouragement to her.

China’s House Churches Under Renewed Pressure

Thirty-five house church Christians were arrested in Inner Mongolia and 15 were sent to labor camps after police raided a worship meeting being held on May 26 in Dongsheng, the Associated Press reported on May 30.

Martyrdom of Liu Haitao Confirmed in China

On October 16, 2000, twenty-one-year-old Liu Haitao from Henan province in central China died as the result of severe police beatings. Although the immediate cause of his death was a kidney ailment that flared up after police mistreatment and a harsh imprisonment, there is no question his death was the result of his witness for Christ, which makes him a martyr for the faith. Local Christians in the area plan to observe October 16 as a memorial day to the life of the young Christian.

American Aviators Aren’t Alone: Chinese Christians Held Hostage

The continued detention of 24 American aviators by the Chinese government should come as no surprise to Washington.

“The Chinese government is demonstrating its true color and unfortunately that color is Red,” says The Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Gary Lane.

Fears Grow That China Will Class House Churches as Cults

Authorities Urged to Determine Whether Cults are ‘Harmful to Society’ by Alex Buchan LONDON (Compass) — The Chinese government sponsored an International Symposium on Evil Cults in Beijing November 8-10 that urged local authorities not to inquire too closely into the beliefs of accused cults. Instead, authorities were encouraged to assess whether they are “harmful to society” — a catch-all criterion that some house church leaders fear could lead to their own movements being classed as cults. Nearly 60 academics from all over the world attended the Beijing Symposium, and it was full of predictable denunciation of the Chinese folk … Read more

On Cults, Leaders and Politics in China

Letters from Chinese Christians Detail Local Problems and Persecution ANHUI “Here we only have one registered church, which is packed out with people standing in the courtyard. However, since the church was opened, none of the accounts listing all the believers’ donations have ever been made public to them. The pastor has dismissed several Christians who originally were responsible for the finances. He also hands over the donations to the Religious Affairs Bureau to use. Not long ago, several elderly believers formed a church, but the Three Self pastor asked the Religious Affairs Bureau not to grant them a license … Read more

Open Doors Challenges Claims of Religious Freedom in China

When millions of Chinese evangelicals gather for services in their homeland, the worship is rarely music to the ears. Forget the last minute sound checks, voice warm-ups, or instrument tuning. This worship is music to the heart.

Ongoing Harassment of the Church in China

ANHUI PROVINCE

“The most severe persecution happened to us on Sunday, October 17, 1999. They detained 150 Christians and prepared to send some of them to ‘reform through education’ camps for three years. They fined some of us 2,000 RMB. They didn’t even give me a receipt. (Society here is now so corrupt!) But we did not cease to meet.”

— Letter from Mr. Zhang dated March 28, 2000

Chinese police arrest 130 Christians, among them three Americans

Chinese police detained 130 members of a Protestant house church movement in central Henan province on Wednesday, according to a Hong Kong-based human rights group. Among the arrested were three American citizens, the Information Centre for Human Rights and the Democratic Movement in China said.

Ongoing Harassment of the Church in China

“The most severe persecution happened to us on Sunday, October 17, 1999. They detained 150 Christians and prepared to send some of them to ‘reform through education’ camps for three years. They fined some of us 2,000 RMB. They didn’t even give me a receipt. (Society here is now so corrupt!) But we did not cease to meet.”

Crackdown continues in Anhui, China

In Anhui province in eastern China — a center of Christian house church activity — the provincial government is enforcing a repressive religious policy that has continued for many years and shows no sign of abatement. And reliable house church sources say control is being further tightened.

High Profile Prisoner Released, but Others Arrested in China

Zhang Rongliang, also known as David Zhang, is at large in China despite receiving a three-years’ hard labor sentence in December 1999. Reliable reports from central China say he was able to buy himself out of jail. But Born Again movement leader Xu Yongze remains incarcerated, despite having completed his three-year sentence on March 15, and 10 more house church leaders were arrested in southeast China in May.

Xu Yongze Released from Labor Camp in China

China’s most famous house church prisoner, Mr. Xu Yongze, is free. The 58-year-old founder of the Born Again movement was released on May 16, after serving a three-year “re-education through labor” sentence for establishing an illegal organization in China.

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