Chinese House Church Leader Released

19 September 2007

_{Pastor Cai before his arrest in 2004}

Beijing house church leader Cai Zhuohua, who was arrested in September 2004 and sentenced to three years for illegally printing Bibles (for more details click here) was unexpectedly released on September 10. According to a September 14 report from China Aid Association, he arrived home at approximately 1:00 p.m. in good health. He was released with strict warnings against practicing his faith outside of the government-sanctioned church. On September 13, he was taken to the Public Security Bureau office and issued further warnings against religious activity. During his imprisonment, Zhuohua was not allowed to possess or read a Bible and was forced to do labour for up to twelve hours a day making soccer equipment for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For more information on persecution in China, visit China's 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.