Priests Arrested As They Prepared to Teach Classes

19 May 2004

Just as they were preparing to begin classes on natural family planning and moral theology, Chinese secret police took into custody two Catholic priests. According to a May 17 report in Zenit, Lu Genjun, 42, and Cheng Xiaoli, 40, were arrested on May 14 in An Guo in the province of Hebei.

Lu had just recently been released after serving three years in a labour camp. He is now in the police detention center of Dingzhou, Hebei. The whereabouts of Cheng is presently unknown.

Pray for spiritual, emotional and physical strength for these men, as they suffer for their faith. Pray for a quick release.

Recently released DVDs and books on the persecution of Christians in China are available from VOM (click here). For more information on Christian persecution 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.