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Nationwide Crackdown on Chinese House Churches
Hundreds of Christians have been arrested in recent weeks and many are still in prison as Chinese authorities carry on the crackdown reported in Persecution and Prayer Alert two weeks ago (click here). New reports were released by China Aid on June 29.
Approximately 100 pastors were arrested on June 24 at the home of Pastor Chen Dongming in Hezhai Village in Henan Province, where they were meeting for leadership training. According to eye witnesses, more than fifty security officers surrounded the village before bursting into the building. The officers confiscated personal property, including cash, books, blankets, rice and household effects. Most of the pastors were released later that day, but nine, including Pastor Chen Dongming, Pastor Wei and Pastor Jin are still in jail.
On June 3, Chinese border guards detained 34 Christians at a customs office in Kashi in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Christians had passports and visas from Pakistan and were arrested when one revealed they were Christian missionaries. Most of the 34 were detained for fifteen days before being released. They are now in hiding, fearing further repercussions from the authorities.
Continue to pray for the Christians recently arrested, as well as the many others imprisoned for their faith. Pray that countries around the world will put pressure on China to improve their human rights and allow religious freedom.
For more information on the persecution of Chinese Christians, click here. Video reports are also available from China at www.vomcanada.com.
One Hundred House Churches Raided in China
The Voice of the Martyrs has recently received a copy of an official Chinese government document outlining a new offensive on underground house churches. In part, the document reads: "We have dealt with the Falun-gong. We have arrested and put their leaders on the run. Now we must resolutely and strongly deal with the unregistered house churches. They are too numerous -- too many. We must deal with them strongly." The document suggests the increased pressure would be from April to August 2005.
On May 22, during Sunday worship time, police and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers simultaneously raided approximately 60 house churches in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province in northeastern China. In the days following, an additional 40 churches in the area were also raided.
More than 600 house church believers and leaders were taken into custody. Most were released after 24 to 48 hours of interrogation, but approximately 100 leaders are still being held in different detention centers.
This is clearly a major assault on unregistered house churches in Jilin province. VOM sources suggest that the amount of man-power, coordination and planning involved in raiding 60 church meetings simultaneously shows this effort came from high levels of the Chinese government.
One church pastor, Zhao Dianru, 58, was arrested May 22 and released Monday, June 6, after 15 days of "administrative detention." Zhao’s arrest document accused him of "using other means to instigate and disturb social stability," but did not mention religion or church activities. According to reliable contacts in that area, at least 20 boxes of Christian books were confiscated during the police raids.
VOM sources say that university students, professors and other young intellectuals make up a large portion of the raided house church groups. It's believed this is a coordinated campaign to eliminate house church influence in the university areas. At least three of the arrested church leaders work as professors at Changchun University. The three were also released after 15 days of detention, but are being watched by PSB officers.
China's new law on religion, the Provisions on Religious Affairs, took effect March 1. Some believed the new law would lead to less restriction on unregistered churches, but these large-scale raids and arrests seem to show otherwise.
The raided house churches are not all part of the same group, and are not affiliated with any of China’s major house church networks. They are independent house churches with thousands of believers who choose not to register their Christian activities with the Communist government.
One church leader who was held for 15 days and then released told VOM contacts that he and the churches he leads had been asked three times in recent months to join the government-sanctioned Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), but had refused. The TSPM is the state-approved Protestant organization. TSPM churches must meet in a government-approved location, have a government-approved church leader, and are prohibited from allowing children under 18 to attend church meetings.
Pray for strength of mind, heart and faith for those arrested in these attacks. Pray for stability and the recognition of God's presence and guidance for the members of these house churches. We encourage Christians around the world to write their government leaders asking that pressure be put on the Chinese government to respect the basic rights of their citizens. Click here for government contact information.
For more information on the persecution of Chinese Christians,click here. Assorted video clips from the underground church in China are also available on our multimedia website at www.vomcanada.com.
China Update: Zhao KeXun
Father Thomas Zhao KeXun, 75, administrator of the Diocese of Xuanhua, in Hebei province, was released June 1, according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation. KeXun was arrested on March 30 (click here for details). At the time, no reason was given for his arrest.
Seven Priests Released; Elderly Bishop Sentenced to Re-Education
Last week, The Voice of the Martyrs reported on the arrest of seven Chinese Catholic priests as they traveled to a retreat on April 27 (click here for details). VOM has since learned that six of the priests were released the next day and the seventh, Li Suchuan, was released a few days later. According to AsiaNews, the priests were released because the Zhengding diocese's "special situation." Sources report that local police in that area are prepared to "turn a blind eye" to the activities of the non-official Catholic Church as long as they "are not too obvious."
AsiaNews also reports that the Auxiliary Bishop of Xiwanzi in Hebei Province has been detained and is being subjected to "re-education." The 83-year-old Bishop Yao Liang was arrested on March 31 and then released in mid-April. Soon after his release, he was again detained. The purpose of the "re-education" is undoubtedly to convince the bishop to leave the underground Catholic Church and join the official government church.
Pray for physical and spiritual strength of Bishop Yao. Pray for Christian leaders throughout China facing pressure from authorities. Continue to pray for those in prison for their faith. A list of Christians presently in prison for their faith, along with ways you can help, is available online.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in China,click here.
Seven Underground Chinese Priests Arrested
^{Bishop Jia Zhiguo}
Seven priests of the Diocese of Zhengding, Hebei were arrested on the evening of April 27 in Wuqiu Village of Jinzhou. According to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, the seven were traveling to a retreat conducted by Bishop Jia Zhiguo, who had been under 24-hour surveillance since March 30 and who had just been released. Those arrested were: Wang Dingshan (50), Li Qiang (31), Liu Wenyuan (35), Zhang Qingcai (45), Li Suchuan (40), Pei Zhenping (43) and Yin Zhengsong (32).
Commenting on these recent arrests, Joseph Kung, president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said, "How could the Chinese government on one hand proclaim to Pope Benedict XVI and the world their willingness to improve the relationship between China and the Vatican, and on the other hand keep arresting the Pope's priests? It is quite obvious that the desire expressed by the Chinese government to improve its relationship with the Vatican is less than sincere."
Pray for these and many others presently in prison or house arrest in China because of their faith. Pray for the strength to continue their ministry despite the continued opposition from Chinese authorities.
For more information on the persecution of the Church in China,click here.
Vatican Denounces Arrests in China
On April 2, Vatican spokesman, Joaquín Navarro Valls, issued a press statement reporting on the arrest of a 75-year-old priest of the underground Catholic Church, Thomas Zhao Kexium, on March 30. According to the Zenit news service in Rome, Kexium was returning from a funeral when he was detained by security forces. The reasons for his arrest and his present location are unknown.
Zenit also reports that the bishop of the same diocese of Xuanhua, in the province of Hebei, Philip Peter Zhao Zhendong (85) was arrested on January 3 and is presently detained in the city of Jiangjiakow. According to the same report, national security forces arrested Bishop James Lin Xili (86), Bishop of Wenzhou, in the province of Zhejiang on March 20. Two days later, Gao Xinyou, collaborator in the pastoral care of the laity in the Longgang area, was also arrested.
These arrests add to the list of Roman Catholic bishops and priests arrested or prevented from carrying out their ministry by the Chinese authorities, reported in the Persecution and Prayer Alert on March 9. To view the list of these Catholic leaders and addresses for Chinese authorities, to whom you can write on their behalf, click here.
Continue to pray for each of these Christians who have been imprisoned, many of them old and frail. Pray for God's peace, protection, and assurance.
For more information on persecution in China,click here. The May 2005 edition of VOM's monthly newsletter will be featuring the persecution of Christians in China. To subscribe to this newsletter, click here.
Foreign Church Leaders Deported from China
^{Rev. Dr. Brad Long
Photo from}^www.prmi.org
^{Rev. John Chang
Photo from}^www.gcif.org

On the morning of February 24, a training session for church leaders from across China was raided by Chinese authorities. Eight Americans, one Taiwanese and an unknown number of South Koreans were detained and interrogated. They were then ordered to leave the country within five days.
The training session for about 140 Chinese house church leaders was being held in an office building in a suburb of Harbin city, the capital of Heilongjiang province. According to ChinaAid, the house church leaders were released that night after being interrogated, fingerprinted and required to give their home addresses and house church affiliations. Their cell phones were also confiscated, along with 20,000 RMB (about $3000 CDN). Those deported include Americans Rev. Dr. Brad Long and Rev. and Mrs. John and Susan Chang, and well-known Taiwanese church leader Rev. Lin Yuyuan.
Pray for the continuing training of Chinese church leaders. Pray that the Gospel will continue to spread throughout the country.
For more information on the state of the Church in China,click here.
Chinese Leader Tortured; Campaign to Free Catholic Leaders Launched
^{Pastor Zhuohua Cai}
In other developments in China, ChinaAid has learned from a reliable source that Pastor Zhuohua Cai had been tortured with electric cattle prods to force a confession after his arrest in September 2004 (click here for more details). He is accused of illegally running a printing press and profiting illicitly from the enterprise.
On March 5, AsiaNews published a list of 19 Roman Catholic bishops and 18 priests arrested or prevented from carrying out their ministry by the Chinese authorities. The list includes six bishops who were arrested and have disappeared. One was arrested in 1996. The purpose of the article is to raise awareness of their plight and to begin a campaign aimed at gaining the release of these prisoners of faith. The Voice of the Martyrs encourages your involvement. A list of these leaders and addresses you can write to on their behalf is available online at (click here).
On a possibly more encouraging note, Australian news agency, The Age, reported on March 5 that China is preparing to change their policy on "re-education through labour," which allows police to imprison anyone without trial for up to four years. According to a Chinese Justice Department official, the new system would allow for an appeal to the courts as well as the right to a lawyer. It is believed this change may be a concession to the European Union in an attempt to lift its arms embargo on China. VOM Spokesman, Glenn Penner, expressed cautiousness at the news. "Of course, only time will tell," he stated, "whether genuine change in this draconian policy will materialize or if Chinese authorities will simply find another, less obvious, way of violating the basic human rights of those whom they wish to detain without going through the judicial system. The international community needs to be vigilant in keeping China accountable regarding this. It is too easy just to accept their stated intentions and believe that this is progress."
Pray for real and lasting change in China. Pray that those detained for their beliefs will be strong in their faith and stand firm in the face of torture. Pray for the release of those detained.
For more information on persecution facing Christians in China,click here.
Chinese Christian Released from Prison
According to the Associated Press, Zhang Shengqi has been released after one year in prison. Zhang was arrested in late 2003, along with Liu Fenggang and Xu Yonghai. They were convicted of leaking "national secrets" after posting Internet reports on the destruction of several unregistered churches in Hangzhou. They were also accused of leaking information about a 2000 court case involving Li Baozhi to an overseas magazine, "Christian Life Quarterly." Family members contacted by AP confirm his release.
Thank God for this release and pray for those who are still imprisoned for the faith in China. Pray that Zhang will not continue to face harassment from Chinese officials.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in China,click here.
Prominent Church Leader Arrested
^{Zhang Rongliang
Photo from}^VOM-USA
According to China Aid, a prominent house church leader in China, Zhang Rongliang, was arrested on December 1 at his home in Xuzhai village in Henan Province. His wife and children were able to escape and are presently in hiding. Their apartment has been searched, with authorities confiscating DVDs, photos and other materials that would establish any form of proof that Zhang had relationships with foreign organizations. According to a reliable source, homes throughout the village were searched, presumably looking for Zhang's wife and children.
Zhang is believed to be held in custody in the Zheng Zhou area of Henan Province. He is the leader of the China for Christ Church, a network of house churches estimated to have more than ten million members. Zhang is well known internationally, being featured in the book, "Jesus in Beijing," as well as many other books and articles. He previously served twelve years in prison for his faith and was last released in August 1999.
According to Bob Fu from China Aid, Pastor Zhang’s health is questionable as he suffers from serious diabetes. It is feared that Pastor Zhang may not be able to withstand the torture and mistreatment generally associated with the imprisonment of church leaders.
China Aid reports that Gao Shunping, who assisted Pastor Zhang in getting a travel ID, has also disappeared and at least three house churches in the Fangcheng area have been raided in the past two weeks.
We encourage Christians throughout the world to protest this latest action against freedom of religion in China. Contact information for Chinese embassies is available through our website (click here). The book, "Jesus in Beijing," is available through VOM's online catalog.
For more information on persecution facing Christians in China,click here.

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