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  • Verdict Expected for Church Leaders; Updates on Previous Reports
    Zhang Shengqi with fiance 

     Zhang Shengqi with fiance

    After ten months in detention, a verdict is expected in trials of three prominent house church leaders. According to an August 4 report from China Aid, the defense attorneys and family members have been notified to appear at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, August 6.

    The charges against Liu Fenggang, Xu Yonghai and Zhang Shengqi stem from a case against Ms.Li Baozhi in 2000. The three are accused of leaking information about the case to an overseas magazine, "Christian Life Quarterly" as well as sending a report to China Aid Association. Liu has also been charged with leaking information on the destruction of several house church buildings. The sentence for leaking "national secrets" can be life imprisonment. For more information on the arrests of these three, click here).

    There have been several other developments in China to report, listed below:

      

     Xu Yonghai

     Lui Fenggang

    China Aid reports that all but eight of the one hundred Christians arrested on July 12 have been released (click here for more details). The eight still in custody are leaders from Ku Er Le and Urumushi. The release was surprising, since thirty had already been shaved in preparation for labour camps. The group leader expresses deep gratitude to those who worked to help secure the release.

    China Aid also reports that Deborah Xu is again under house arrest, after going missing for a few days. She has been told to not leave her residence without permission from the Department of State Security. Xu was arrested on January 25 (click here).

    We ask that you continue to pray for these requests, particularly for the August 6 court appearance. Continue to intercede in prayers as well as contacting government officials on behalf of these and hundreds of other Christians in prison for their faith in China. Click here for contact information.

    For more information on persecution facing Christians in China,click here.
  • Over One Hundred Christian Leaders Arrested

    In an incident reminiscent of a similar arrest only weeks before (click here for details), Chinese authorities raided a leadership retreat on July 12, arresting over one hundred church leaders. More than two hundred military police and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers surrounded the "Retreat Center for Railroad Workers" located in Section 5 of Liu Gong Town, Chang Ji Zhou (district) in Xinjiang in Western China, arresting everyone gathered there. No arrest warrants or official identification papers were shown by officers as they carried out the raid.

    The "co-workers meeting" was being held to train and encourage Christian workers in the Xinjiang area, China's western frontier and the home of the mostly-Muslim Uyghur people. The meeting was sponsored by the Ying Shang Church, a large house-church network headquartered in Anhui Province.

    More than thirty are being held in the PSB headquarters near the retreat centre, while the rest were sent back to their home areas where they are being detained in PSB offices. Several have reportedly been sent to the so-called "Transformation and Study Center," where they face interrogation and attempts to force them to renounce their faith. If they refuse, they will be formally charged. According ChinaAid, those from ouside of Xinjiang are facing added problems, since it is illegal to cross a provincial border for religious meetings without government approval.

     Pastor Samuel Lamb

     Pastor Samuel Lamb

    Among those arrested are Wang Yu Lian, a leader in the Ying Shang Church for more than 20 years. Also arrested was Jin Da, the General Secretary of the government-sanctioned TSPM of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. Jin is reported to be supportive of unregistered house churches.

    The underground church in China has been facing increasing pressure from government forces in recent weeks. On June 11, a similar conference was raided and all in attendance were arrested, but later released. Compass Direct also reports that on June 13, well-known house church leader, Samuel Lamb, was also arrested along with ten co-workers. They were all interrogated and then released. This is the first time in fourteen years that Chinese authorities have taken such action against Pastor Lamb. You can view a message from Pastor Lamb in the teaching section of VOM's multimedia website.

    Pray for the continued growth and strength of the Chinese Church, despite this increasing pressure. Pray for the spiritual and emotional strength of those facing interrogation and the physical ability to withstand the torture many will likely face. Pray for their families, as they face the emotional turmoil of seeing their loved ones taken from them because of their faith in Jesus.

    For more information on persecution of Christians in China,click here.
  • Beaten to Death for Distributing Bibles

    A 34-year-old woman was beaten to death in jail on June 18 after being arrested for handing out Bibles in the southwest Chinese province of Guizhou. According to news reports, Jiang Zongxiu was official arrested for "spreading rumours and inciting to disturb social order." Later that day, police informed her family that she had died of a sudden illness. Relatives report that her body was covered with bruises and blood stains.

    Sharing Christian literatureThe incident has sparked protests in Jiang's hometown, as local residents demand an investigation. This is the second report of a Christian being beaten to death by Chinese police in the past two months. On April 26, Gu Xianggao was beaten to death by Public Service Bureau (PSB) officers (click here for details).

    While Bibles are officially allowed in China, only a limited number are published and are not available for public distribution.

    For more information on persecution facing Christians in China,click here. Testimonies and reports on Christianity in China can also be found on VOM's multimedia website at PersecutionTV.
  • One Hundred Prisoners Released

    On June 16, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported that one hundred leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship had been arrested during a leadership retreat in Wuhan City (click here for more details). We are thankful to report that, according to a July 2 report from Asia Harvest, all of those arrested have been released.

    While these leaders have been released, they have been ordered to return to their home towns where they are required to stay and report to local authorities on regular intervals. Since many of them are evangelists, these travel restrictions are likely to hinder their ongoing ministry.

    Praise God that these ministers have been released. Pray that they will find effective ways of communicating the Gospel despite these restrictions.

    For more information the continuing persecution of Christians in China,click here.
  • Government Denies Arresting Bishop

    On May 27, an 84-year-old bishop of the underground Catholic Church, Zhao Zhendong, disappeared, taken into custody by Chinese authorities. However, facing increasing international pressure, China's Religious and Ethical Affairs Bureau has publicly denied that Zhao had ever been arrested. According to a June 25 report from Voice of America, a spokesman for the bureau claims that Zhao had been voluntarily taking a course on China's official religious policy. The official claimed that Zhao had now finished the course and returned to his church in a village in Hebei where there are no telephones. When Voice of America attempted to confirm that Zhao had been released, a spokesman from the Vatican stated that they had heard nothing from Zhao since his arrest.

    In recent months, Chinese authorities have been increasing pressure on underground churches, arresting hundreds of believers. Some have been released after a few days, while many remain in prison and "re-education" camps. Pray for Zhao and the many other Christians facing prison for their faith. Pray for physical strength, as well as a firm resolve to follow Christ without wavering.

    VOM's Multimedia Website, PersecutionTVFor more information on persecution in China,click here. You may also want to view some of VOM's videos on China available online on our new multimedia website, PersecutionTV.
  • More than One Hundred Christian Leaders Arrested

    Wuhan, ChinaIn a single raid on a leadership retreat on June 11, police arrested more than one hundred leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship (CGF) house church movement. According to a witness to the arrest, around fifty police officers, probably from the Public Security Bureau (PSB), raided the meeting in Wuhan, Hubei Province, around 2:00 p.m., arresting everyone present, including one of the senior CGF leaders Xing Jinfu. There is no information on where they are being held. The CGF was founded in the mid-1980s and is one of five major house church movements, with over five million members.

    Pray for the release of these leaders. Pray that the churches left without leadership at this point will be strong in their faith and witness for Jesus Christ. Pray for emotional and spiritual strength for the families of those arrested.

    We encourage you to write to politely raise concerns about these arrests. Below is contact information for the Chinese Embassy in Canada and the United Nations. For additional contact information, click here.

    Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
    350 East 35th Street
    New York, N.Y. 10016
    Phone: (212) 655-6100, Fax: (212) 634-7626
    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    His Excellency Ping Mei, Ambassador
    Embassy of the People's Republic of China
    515 St. Patrick St.
    Ottawa, ON K1N 5H3
    Phone: (613) 789-3434, 3513, 8422/791-0511
    Fax: (613) 789-1911
    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    For more information on persecution in China,click here.
  • Christian Prisoner Released

    The Voice of the Martyrs has received news that Philip Xu (Xu Guoxing) has been released from prison, after serving eighteen months for holding illegal Christian gatherings in his home. To date, Philip has been imprisoned four times, serving almost eight years for his faith. Reporting on Philip's release, his brother Xu Jixing said that Philip was "full of joy and physically well."

    Praise God that this servant of God has been released. Pray for the hundreds of others still in prison for their faith. Continue to pray for Philip and his family.

    For more information on China and the persecution facing believers there,click here.
  • House Church Leader Released

    Last week, The Voice of the Martyrs reported how house church leader, Zhao Wenquan (60), had been arrested on May 9 in Hegou Town, Anhui Province in east-central China (click here for details). We were pleased to learn that he had been released on May 25, after fourteen days of detention. VOM sources in China say Zhao suffered only "minor beatings" during his incarceration, and was in good spirits after his release. Members of his house church group expressed their thankfulness for international prayer and protest after Zhao's arrest.

    Thank you to each of you who prayed on Zhou's behalf. Continue to pray for the many other church leaders still in detention in China's prisons and labour camps.

    For more information on the persecution facing the Church in China,click here.
  • House Church Leaders Arrested; One Dies in Custody

    On April 26, Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers arrested Gu Xianggao (28), a teacher in a house church movement known as "Three Grades Servants," in Harbin City in Heilongjiang province, China. The next day, his parents were informed that he had died. According to a letter from his sister to China Aid, a PSB officer told the family that Gu had been a suspect in a murder and died while under interrogation. However, they were unwilling to say who he was accused of murdering or give any details. The officers claimed that Gu had died of a stroke or heart attack, despite being in good health. When the parents confronted the PSB, demanding to see the body and receive a proper explanation of what happened, they were paid 230,000 RMB ($38,000 Cdn.) and ordered to tell no one. They were briefly shown his face, which had obvious bruising around the eyes. They were then dragged from the room and the body was taken to be cremated. The PSB consistently refused to give them documentation explaining the reasons for the large financial payment.

     

     Chinese "Re-Education Through Labour" Camp

    On May 9, another church leader, Zhao Wenquan (60), was arrested in Hegou Town, Anhui Province in east-central China. According to a May 25 news release from China Aid, more than four thousand Christians had gathered in the village for a special harvest festival. Since the town's church normally has less than three hundred people, the gathering attracted the attention of the local PSB who raided their meeting. Zhao was arrested when the celebration ended. About a dozen other leaders escaped and are presently in hiding. Zhao was charged with "disturbing the social order" and organizing an "illegal religious gathering." If sentenced, he could face three years of "re-education through labour."

    On May 9, another church leader, Zhao Wenquan (60), was arrested in Hegou Town, Anhui Province in east-central China. According to a May 25 news release from China Aid, more than four thousand Christians had gathered in the village for a special harvest festival. Since the town's church normally has less than three hundred people, the gathering attracted the attention of the local PSB who raided their meeting. Zhao was arrested when the celebration ended. About a dozen other leaders escaped and are presently in hiding. Zhao was charged with "disturbing the social order" and organizing an "illegal religious gathering." If sentenced, he could face three years of "re-education through labour."

    Pray for the family of Gu Xianggao, as they deal with this terrible loss. Pray that Zhao Wenquan will be released and not sent to a labour camp. Pray for spiritual strength and protection for each of the church leaders in China, facing the fear of arrest, torture, prison or death.

    For more information on persecution facing the Church in China,click here.
  • Priests Arrested As They Prepared to Teach Classes

    Just as they were preparing to begin classes on natural family planning and moral theology, Chinese secret police took into custody two Catholic priests. According to a May 17 report in Zenit, Lu Genjun, 42, and Cheng Xiaoli, 40, were arrested on May 14 in An Guo in the province of Hebei.

    Lu had just recently been released after serving three years in a labour camp. He is now in the police detention center of Dingzhou, Hebei. The whereabouts of Cheng is presently unknown.

    Pray for spiritual, emotional and physical strength for these men, as they suffer for their faith. Pray for a quick release.

    Recently released DVDs and books on the persecution of Christians in China are available from VOM (click here). For more information on Christian persecution in China,click here.

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