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China

• Family Terrorized by Police

  

  A Christian woman from Shenzhen penned a letter titled, "Horrible," to describe the abuse her family suffered at the hands of governmental authorities. Shi Minglei was leaving for work on the morning of July 22nd when she saw a group of officials hiding in the fire escape. They rushed into her home, breaking down the door, to arrest her husband, Cheng Yuan. Cheng was allowed to pack his clothes before being taken away without any information on where he was going.

• Updates on Pastors John Cao and Wang Yi

  

  It was recently reported that the appeal hearing for American/Chinese pastor John Cao had been cancelled, for the court was to instead make its decision based solely on written submissions (see this report). On July 25th, the outcome of the court's decision was to uphold the original seven-year sentence. Due to a heavy police presence, only Pastor John Cao's elderly mother and sister, along with his lawyer, were allowed to hear the verdict.

• Pastor Cao Faces a "Paper Trial"

  

  American pastor John Cao and his co-worker, Jing Ruxia, were detained in 2017 after being accused of "organizing illegal border crossings" between Myanmar and China (see our previous report). Pastor Cao was sentenced to seven years in prison and Jing to one year. Although the accused pastor has appealed the sentence, the hearing has been pushed back several times.

  Last week, the hearing was scheduled for August 22nd. However, Pastor Cao's lawyer received notice on July 12th that there will be no hearing after all; instead, the lawyers must submit any arguments on paper by July 17th. The court would then consider the arguments and render a decision. ChinaAid founder Bob Fu has condemned the process as a "sham" and a "trial session on paper only."

• Multiple Church Raids and Closures

  

  Opposition to unregistered house churches in China has increased significantly, with multiple raids and closures in recent days. Officials in Xiamen have stated their intent to shut down all house churches within the city over the next two years, which is only one small part of a nationwide campaign.

• Pastor's Wife Released on Bail

  

  On the evening of December 9th, 2018, over 100 members of the Early Rain Covenant Church were arrested in coordinated raids on their homes. The pastor, Wang Yi, remains in detention, facing up to 15 years in prison. Several others, including his wife, also face charges. For more information on this incident, go to this page.

• Ongoing Church Harassment

  

  As opposition to Christianity grows throughout China, churches in rural areas in particular are experiencing rapid growth. One Christian stated that "people are joining churches by the whole village, one village after another." When asked why, the believer said one factor is that limited financial resources force people to rely on God in their everyday lives.

• Christianity Allegedly an "Enormous Harm"

  
  

  A seminar was held during late April in the city of Hebi, Henan, to discuss "Christianity's enormous harm on China's security." Attended by members of the Chinese Communist Party, the gathering encouraged all members to maintain "correct views" in regards to the religion.

• Government Hires Church Spies

  

  The Chinese government is hiring citizens to spy on churches, according to Christian leaders. A church elder from the city of Kaifeng, located in Henan province, stated that officials within his area had recruited someone of each village to scrutinize the worship services, paying them five times the normal monthly stipend given to poor households.

• More Than Twenty Arrested in Shanghai

  

  Authorities in the city of Shanghai seized more than 20 Christian business leaders, along with one American citizen, in the early morning of April 4th. According to ChinaAid, the arrests were directly tied to their faith and church activities.

• Prominent Church Closed

  

  Over the past eight years, we have been reporting on numerous incidents of hardship faced by members of the Shouwang Church in Beijing, one of the most prominent unregistered churches in the country. On March 23rd, the police moved in to completely shut down and liquidate the church. For a list of previous reports, click here.