Chinese Leader Arrested and Beaten for Providing Aid

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On October 11, a prominent Christian activist, Hua Huiqi, was arrested in his home in Beijing. He was accused of aiding Sun Xiaodi who, earlier this year, had sought to appeal to government authorities in Beijing to stop the religious persecution that she and her house church were facing in her native Gansu province. She was subsequently arrested on April 28, 2005.

After seven hours of intense abuse and interrogation, Hua was released. Speaking to Bob Fu of China Aid Association, Hua said he was handcuffed the entire time. He was beaten and kicked repeatedly. Whenever he was asked a question, he was slapped in the face before he had a chance to answer. Hua told Fu, "Though I was beaten by the interrogators repeatedly, I told them I love and pray for them instead of hating them. They told me I am a strange man."

Praise God for Hua's release and for the testimony of Christ-likeness that he was able to demonstrate while being interrogated. Pray for Hua and others as they serve Christ's Church in this very difficult land.

For more information on the persecution facing Christians in China, click here. Several video clips from China are also available on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.

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.