Super User
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur
A London conference was held last week by Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Release International to raise awareness of persecuted Christians in China. Release International called on Microsoft and Yahoo to follow Google's lead and refuse to censor the Internet and reports of persecution in China. ‘Religious persecution is a daily reality in China,’ said Release CEO Andy Dipper. ‘The Chinese people need to be told the truth and gatekeepers to the Internet, namely Microsoft and Yahoo, have a duty to let the truth be told.’ The conference highlighted the plight of human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, who disappeared more than 400 days ago after defending leaders of the persecuted house church and practitioners of the banned movement Falun Gong. Praise God Gao has been interviewed, see Praise article below.
Pray: that Gao Zkisheng would be released immediately along with many others in similar circumstances. (Ps.4:1)
ChinaAid has received information from more than one reliable source that 'Operation Deterrence' crackdowns are norrowly focussed on Christian churches and may be solely directed at China’s vibrant network of house churches and their members. Recent government actions against Christians have included official harassment of influential house church leaders and cyberattacks that brought down ChinaAid’s Chinese and English news websites. In recent years the Beijing regime had stepped back from its hostility toward and opposition to the house church movement; leading many Christians in China and overseas to believe that these unregistered congregations could win official sanction without having to join the government-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the only Protestant church officially allowed to function in China. Operation Deterrence harks back to the previous era of hostilities that for decades drove unknown hundreds of thousands of believers to worship in secret and fearing for their lives and freedom. Pray: China would see unity in all her churches and that house churches would be able to have a dialogue with the government. (Is.25:5) More: http://www.chinaaid.org/2010/12/china-launches-major-crackdown-on-house.html
Approximately 10 police officials raided the home of a Christian in Beijing searching for Hua Huiqi, a formerly imprisoned pastor. Every room in the house was ransacked, including a bedroom belonging to a child. The officials questioned the homeowner about intentions to meet with foreigners later that evening. In response to the incident the owner later spoke these powerful words: ‘Because the Beijing police have crossed the line, and have blatantly and continually abused the basic rights of my entire family, I hereby announce that today I will begin to continually fast and pray. I will pray to the Lord to bless China and to fill it with righteousness! I also request, brothers and sisters, that you pray for me and my family, and that God may grant us freedom from fear!.’ Prayer Alert office asks you to spread the news of this article so that many Christians will stand with Hua Huiqi for China. Pray: that Hua Huiqi will not give in to fear and for other Christians facing opposition in China to remain confident in Christ. (1 Pe.3:14-17) More: http:// ww.persecution.net/cn-2010-11-04.htm
Academics agree, ‘China is at a crossroads’. A new leadership will establish a distinctive character of its own. The new president Xi Jinping knows the West in a way none of his predecessors did. His daughter is studying in the United States and he has spent time there too. He will not act on his own and needs to persuade the rest of the Party leadership to go along with him, but he may represent a shift to change. Younger people in the cities don’t recognise the old Communist leadership which is irrelevant to their lives and futures. The Chinese Church also has been changing - on Tuesday Christian leaders and a number of Bible Society donors joined government officials from the State of Administration for Religious Affairs for a ceremony celebrating over 60 million Bibles having now been distributed throughout China. See:
Pray: for God’s hand to guide China through this season of change into a new identity and Christian inheritance. ( Ps.125:3 & Pr.29:4)
Christians in remote Xinjiang province are suspected of being a cult after a violent armed raid with guns and electric batons on their house church. One Christian named as Sister Xu remains in detention. Another house church leader Brother Shen, was summoned for interrogation separately, which caused an 'episode' relating to his heart condition. Christian leader, Sister Cao, fled the area fearing she would be detained. All are members of the same house church. In March officials visited Sister Xu's home while she was hosting a prayer meeting. The 14 assembled Christians did not answer the door and officials left. Later that evening armed police arrived to confiscate property, take fingerprints and blood samples from Xu, her son and husband before taking them to the police station for written statements. It was there that Xu's husband saw information on a computer alleging links between the house church and a Chinese religious cult.
Pray: for God to strengthen Sister Xu, protect Sister Cao and fill all members of this house church afresh with His Holy Spirit. Ask God to touch the hearts of officials investigating the church. (Is.40:31)
More: http://www.releaseinternational.org/pages/posts/china-armed-raid-on-xinjiang-christians-1098.php
The officially atheist Chinese government requested religious groups and people of faith to help with the rebuilding efforts in a northwest province ravaged by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake on April 14. In an open letter posted on its official Government website China asked the religious community to donate towards reconstruction in the Tibetan area of Yushu in Qinghai Province. The religious community has already donated over 86.9 million yuan, $12.7 million, for the quake-hit area. The Chinese hope Christian leaders and individual believers can make further donations. The letter also expressed appreciation for the prayers and immediate relief from religious organizations when at least 2,220 people were killed, over 12,000 injured and 100,000 left homeless. World Vision, Caritas Internationalis, ACT Alliance, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Catholic Relief Services responded to the needs and are still there distributing aid. In recent years China has been more receptive to religion in society despite problems with religious freedom.
Pray: for more safe avenues of Christian activity in China and for many to step into open Christian witness as God alters the spirit over the nation. (Ro.10:14-15)
The only authorised Bible-printing company in China marked the printing of its eighty-millionth Bible on Monday, the government’s official press agency announced. Amity Printing Co, located in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, says it now prints one million copies a month. Since its founding in 1988, the printing company has grown to be one of the largest Bible publishers in the world. ‘The production of 80 million Bible copies can be attributed to the world of China’s Christians, and, more importantly, the country’s reform and opening-up policy,’ said Zhonghui Qiu, chairman of the board of Amity Printing Co. Similarly, David Thorne, the Asia secretary of the United Bible Societies – which is Amity’s partner in Bible printing – credited the Chinese government’s support for the high volume of Bibles being published in the country. About a quarter of the Bibles printed in the world today are made in China. Praise: God that His Word is spreading so amazingly. More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/80.million.bibles.printed.in.china.and.counting/27047.htm
A Chinese ‘illegal’ church refused to follow government orders not to meet in a public square. (See Prayer Alert 16-2011). This week over 31 of its members were arrested, and again, reporters were blocked from the site. The arrests of Beijing's Shouwang Church members came after clergy said they would not buckle to Communist Party pressure. Over 160 were arrested the first week they met outdoors, 50 were arrested the second week and approximately 40 on Easter Sunday. The declining number of arrests is due to many members being under house arrest. On Easter Sunday, over 500 Christians including every church staff member, lay leader and choir member were under house arrest. The church is attempting to meet outdoors because the government blocked all attempts by the church to rent or purchase a building. Members say failing to come together and worship would be an abandonment of biblical commands. Pray: that God would enable the church to fulfil His purposes in the area that he has placed them and be strengthened in the face of all opposition. (Eph.2:10 & Rev.3:11) More: http://www.chinaaid.org/2011/05/4th-week-china-arrests-30-church.html#more
Last week we asked you to pray for a Church pastor and 25 of his congregation who were forcibly detained on November 16th. See: http://site.prayer-alert.net/images/read%20pa%20now.pdf This week there are signs of Christians speaking out against persecution. Rights defenders ChinaAid have now assembled more than 20 lawyers to defend Pastor Zhang Shaojie and his congregation members. The US-based rights group took this action after the original defence team encountered little cooperation from authorities in Henan province. On November 18 CSW reported 100+ supporters of the pastor joined a protest calling for his release from prison. Zhang, 48, is a Protestant pastor of the Nanle County Christian Church, which is part of the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Earlier this month, ChinaAid reported another protest in Henan involving thousands of Christians over a land dispute between a church in Anyang city and the local authority.
Pray: for the much talked about reorganization of the penal system to be acted upon and for the immediate release of unjustly held victims of the current system. (Ps.120:1)
A Christian activist in Sichuan who is a friend of the arrested man said that ‘Ran Yunfei is a writer and literature magazine editor from Sichuan who was detained without charge for over a month as unrest rippled across the Middle East. Later he was formally charged for inciting subversion of state power. Ran is a prominent writer and his arrest for challenging the Communist Party is the latest in a string of crackdowns on dissent. The 46-yearold was detained as many online calls for similar ‘Jasmine Revolution’ protests in mainland China spread. His arrest was described by friends as ‘the crime of expressing your opinions, and in this case the prosecutors will probably use essays that Ran has published on the Internet.’ The charge against Ran of inciting subversion was also used to jail Liu Xiaobo, the dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize. Pray: for God's peace and comfort to the dozens of lawyers, bloggers and ‘dissidents’ in Beijing's harsh prisons. (Ps.140:4) More: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=3&art_id=109582&sid=31823447&con_type=1&d_str=20110329&fc=1