Continued Persecution Follows House Church Destruction

16 August 2006

House church Chinese authorities are continuing their repression following the destruction of a church building on July 29 (for more information, click here). An August 8 news release from China Aid Association reports that twenty of the fifty who had been detained have since been released. Five of them have been served with formal charges for "interfering with the duty of police officers." There are also reports of severe torture during interrogation. At least three people suffered broken ribs and some of the women were forced to strip in public. A Christian reporter from Zhejiang, Zan Aizong, was also arrested and jailed for seven days for reporting on the destruction and posting an open letter to the Hangzhou chief of police that protested the incident. He has since been fired from his position with the Haiyang Bao newspaper.

A short video clip of the destruction of this church building is available on 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.