Christmas Services Disrupted

03 January 2007

^{Pastor Cai with some
of his church members}

In the past week, China Aid Association reported on two instances in which Chinese authorities disrupted Christmas celebrations.

On Christmas Eve in Beijing, approximately 150 young Christians had gathered to celebrate Christ's coming when Public Security Bureau officers and officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau stormed the gathering. All those present were videotaped and forced to register their ID numbers. The officials declared the meeting an "illegal religious gathering" and warned them not to meet again. The house church was previously led by Pastor Cai Zhuohua, who is presently serving three years in prison for printing Bibles.

On December 29, a house church in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia was raided by local police and Religious Affairs Bureau officials. They declared the Christmas celebration an "illegal gathering" and detained three of the church leaders, sentencing them to fifteen days administrative detention. Those arrested were Sister Liu Guanghua (42) Sister Zhi Huiping (41) and Sister Zhi Ruiping (35). All of them are being held at the Duolun County Detention Centre.

Pray that the Chinese Christians will not be discouraged by disrupted celebrations but instead have increased boldness in the face of persecution (Acts 4:29-31). Pray that those who persecute will come to know Christ's love and forgiveness through the lives of these Christians (Romans 12:14, 21). Pray for the release of those detained.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in China, go to the China Country Report.

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.