Pastor Hua Huiqi beaten by authorities

10 June 2009

On the morning of June 5, Pastor Hua Huiqi was arrested by police officers from Shanxi province and Beijing when he was transferring trains at the Taiyuan Railroad Station in Shanxi, according to a June 9 report from ChinaAid. Hua was taken to a hotel and severely beaten by officials. One of the officials reportedly said to him: "I'm going to strangle you and I'd like to see whether you can still preach the Gospel.... Our Domestic Security Protection Squad is specially set up here to suppress you Jesus believers." The officials also threatened to arrest both him and his wife. He was released on June 7 and, at last report, was being treated for his injuries at his home in Beijing.

Pray for healing for Pastor Hua. Pray for protection for him and his family. Pray that his attackers will turn to faith in Christ and become a demonstration of God's love and mercy to others (1 Timothy 1:16).

Learn more about how Christians are persecuted in China.

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.