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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."

Despite continued efforts to submit an appeal, local authorities have again postponed the hearing for John Cao, who was convicted in 2017 of "organizing an illegal border crossing" between China and Myanmar, and thus sentenced to seven years in prison (see this report).

The communist rule of China, which began in 1949 with Mao Zedong, set the stage for what is known to be one of the world's worst countries for persecution in the past century. Christians, among other religious groups, have faced house arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even death, for their refusal to subject themselves to government control. Even churches that do agree to be state-monitored and registered are not exempt due to the severe restrictions imposed upon them.