Church Leaders Under Siege

10 March 2004

This week the Voice of the Martyrs received a number of reports demonstrating the Chinese government's continued campaign against Christian who refuse to compromise with their Communist ideology.

House Church Leaders Confirmed in Custody or Prosecuted

On February 18, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported the arrest of Xu Yongling (also known as Deborah Xu) on January 25. It is now confirmed that she is being held by the Henan National Security Bureau. On March 5, she was allowed to finally contact her relatives and expressed concern that false promises may be used by police to trap her nephew. She warned her relatives, "Please be very careful of your decision." The home of her nephew was raided by Nanyang police the next day.


^{Xu Yonghai}	^{Lui Fenggang}

Three Christian leaders recently detained have now been formally prosecuted, facing trial for "providing intelligence to overseas organizations." Liu Fenngang, Xu Yonghai and Zhang Shengqi were arrested late 2003. Liu's wife received official notification of the charges in late February. Referring to the charges they face, Bob Fu from China Aid Association said, "There are no state secrets in this story. These men were arrested for telling the truth about how their government treats Christians. The government does not want that truth to be known."

Please pray for these and many other Christians in China imprisoned for their faith. Pray for spiritual strength for churches left without their pastoral leadership. Pray for provision for the families of those arrested.

Church Leader Re-Arrested; Another in Hiding

On March 1, Zeng Guangbo tried to cross the border from China to Russia to minister in a house church there. Instead, he was detained in customs and then taken into custody by the Nanyang Public Security Bureau. Zeng was originally arrested on January 25, but managed to escape and went into hiding. For more details, click here. Apparently Zeng's passport number had been entered into the national custom's computer system, resulting in his recent arrest.

Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association, expressed deep concern for Zeng. "The police in Nanyang are notorious for their brutality towards house church Christians. Because Zeng has been closely working with the 'Born-again' Movement leader Ms. Xu Yongling, the police may use whatever means necessary including torture to get information from him."

Pray for endurance and courage for Zeng during his continuing ordeal. Pray that he will know the presence of Christ's Spirit with him each day.

When Public Security Bureau officers raided his house church on February 9, Chu Wei and his wife, Yin Yan-ling, were interrogated for a day, along then ten other church members, before they were released. The next day, Yin was again taken to the police station where she was ordered to not speak about God, even in the privacy of her home. She also overheard police talking about sending her husband to a camp for "re-education through labour." She immediately warned her husband and they went into hiding. Their two oldest children (14 and 15) remained in the family home, while the youngest (11) stayed with relatives. Yin has since returned to be with her children, but Chu remains in hiding from the police.

Pray that Chu will not be arrested, but will be able to resume his ministry to the Chinese Church. Pray for his protection for his family.

Catholic Bishop Arrested

According to Zenit. Bishop Wei Jingyi of the underground Catholic Church was arrested on March 5 in Heilogjiang in northeast China. Wei was returning from meeting friends at the Harbin airport when he was arrested at a toll booth. Wei (45) has been arrested twice and served time labour camps from 1987-1989 and 1990-1992.

For current in-depth analysis of the situation facing Christians in China, you may want to purchase the following resources available online from the Voice of the Martyrs: "Jesus in Beijing" by David Aikman and "The Cross: Jesus in China," a four-DVD set of interviews and reports recently filmed in China. Visit our online catalog.

For more information on persecution facing Christians in China, click here.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.