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China

• Increasing Pressure on House Churches
  
  The Huaqiu Church
  Photo: ChinaAid

  Authorities in China have been continuing their campaign against Christianity, targeting unregistered house churches. In recent days, at least two churches in Beijing have been raided by authorities who pressured landlords to cancel the leases.

  On May 6th, several dozen officers from the Public Security Bureau entered a church service. While the service was allowed to continue, officials took pictures of those present. Two days later, the landlord revoked their lease.

• Coming Storm for Chinese Christians
  
  Chinese official removing a
  religious mural from a home.

  A leading campaigner has warned of a gathering storm for persecuted Christians in China. Bob Fu, a ministry partner of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, reports that the persecution of Christians has worsened dramatically under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and it could get worse now that he has been declared president for life.

• Human Rights Advocate Mysteriously Dies
  
  Human rights lawyer Li Baiguang with former U.S. President George W. Bush.
  Photo: ChinaAid

  Well-known Chinese Christian human rights lawyer Li Baiguang died in a military hospital on February 26th, despite being in good health just days before. There are concerns that the authorities were involved in his death. Li was taken to the hospital with minor stomach pains and within hours declared dead. The hospital alleges that he had severe liver problems and bled to death, even though he had no previous indications of health problems.

• Services Hindered by Government Interference
  
  Believers in China are persevering despite opposition.
  Photo: ChinaAid

  Two Nanle Church congregations in China's central Henan province had their services tampered with this past Christmas by government authorities. The Hongen Church, which is located in the city of Puyang, was forcibly locked by authorities in order to prevent Christians from organizing Christmas services.

• South Koreans Expelled from Border
  
  The Yalu River forms the border
  between China and North Korea.
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  Hundreds of South Korean Christians, including church leaders, have been sent home within the past year by three northeastern provincial governments in a move that is seen to be an implementation of a new set of rules to control religious activities.

  It's estimated that there were over a thousand South Korean pastors and missionaries working in the northeast part of China, and their departure has led to numerous church closures and abandoned communities. In January of this year, 32 South Korean missionaries were expelled from the Yanji region in Jilin Province, which nears the border of North Korea. By early October, there were no remaining South Korean churches in Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province.

• Family of Three Detained by Authorities

  

  On September 22nd, officials in Xianning, Hubei Province, arrested a pastor, her daughter and three-year-old grandson. After the three had engaged in a house church outreach, which took place in the central part of the country, police and religious affairs officials became upset by the event, resulting in the arrest of the three family members.

• Christian Academy Banned for Alleged ''Brainwashing''

  

  Government officials in China's central Henan province closed down a Christian-run institution dedicated to teaching children good morals, with allegations that its religious component was "brainwashing" the students. On September 14th, Ms. Zhu reported that national security officers had confiscated the textbooks that were being used for the home-based academy which offered theology classes for children.

• Imprisoned Church Worker Released!

  
  Zhang Xiuhong
  VOM USA

  On August 3rd, Zhang Xiuhong, who served as a volunteer deacon and church accountant, was released after being imprisoned for two years. Zhang's arrest was part of the government's broad crackdown on the Living Stone "Huoshi" Church in Guiyang. Chinese authorities have repeatedly targeted the church in recent years by freezing its assets, expelling church members from the property, and arresting one of the church's founders.

• Imprisoned Chinese Pastor is ''Barely Alive''

  
  Pastor Zhang Shaojie
  Photo: China Aid

  Pastor Zhang Shaojie of the Nanle Country Christian Church, in the Henan Province, is "barely alive" after suffering various forms of torture in prison, according to reports from his daughter. He is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence which officially began in 2014.

  His daughter Esther expresses concern that Pastor Zhang is suffering both mentally and physically as a result of meagre food rations and sleep deprivation. When his sister, Zhang Cuixia, visited on July 7th, she testified that her brother appeared fragile and was not allowed to discuss events outside of the prison. According to his sister, he looks "like a bag of bones," with dark discoloration encircling his eyes.    

• Human Rights Lawyer Faces Life Sentence

  Chinese Christian lawyer Jiang Tianyong has not been seen since he disappeared last November. Now the members of his family are told he's been charged with trying to overthrow the regime and, therefore, faces a potential life sentence. Jiang's father received an official statement from the local Public Security Bureau in southern Hunan province informing him that Jiang was charged with "subversion of state power" on May 31st.