Prominent pastor detained by officials

23 September 2009

Pastor Hua Huiqi
Photo from ChinaAid

Pastor Hua Huiqi was seized by Chinese officials in Fengtai District in Beijing on September 17, according to a September 17 report from ChinaAid. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Pastor Hua called his wife, Ju Mei, on his cell phone and told her that he had been forced into a Public Security Bureau vehicle while on his way to a dinner meeting. Less than half-an-hour later, Hua phoned his wife again and told her that officials had taken him to an unknown location. The phone line then went dead. When VOMC partners inquired about Hua, officials told them he was in their custody but refused to disclose his condition or location. A week before Pastor Hua's arrest, a vocational training ministry that he is involved in was raided by officials. To learn more about this attack, read the story from ChinaAid.

Pray that Pastor Hua will be released. Ask God to give comfort and strength to his family in this time.

To find out more about China's suffering Christians, 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.