Displaying items by tag: Asia

The Philippines has an average of twenty storms and typhoons annually, wiping out harvests, homes and infrastructure. The strongest this year, Typhoon Rai, killed 375 people and more deaths are expected as rescue operations continue. Pray for God to comfort all who mourn. Pray for adequate relief housing for the 300,000 who fled their homes and beachfront resorts. Pray for clear organisation and speedy delivery of water, food and medicines by the Red Cross and other relief groups. Pray for families living with no electricity or means of communication to be found and helped. Pray for God to give wisdom and endurance to the thousands of military, police, coast guards and fire personnel assisting in search and rescue efforts. They are describing scenes of ‘complete carnage’. Establishing the scale of the loss of life is difficult in areas where landslides and flooding may have claimed more lives. See also

A court in China has upheld the sentences against booksellers Chang Yuchun, 53, and his wife, Li Chenhui, 44, for 'inciting subversion of state power'. They each face a seven-year jail term and must both pay fines of 250,000 yuan (approximately £29,700). A local source said this is not the first case of religious booksellers being given a jail sentence, but seven years plus a hefty fine is rare. In recent months, authorities have clamped down further on the distribution of Christian resources including audio Bible players and a Bible app.

11% of Lebanon’s population is over the retirement age (65), and 80% of retired people have no health care coverage. Previously Habeeb and Elham had a good life; they could eat meat, afford medicine and have the lights on. But those times are over. When Habeeb retired their income stopped and now the 80-year-olds face poverty and uncertainty. ‘There is no government pension when you are old, no one is helping. How can we pay our bills?’ asks Habeeb with tears in his eyes. Lebanon has one of the world's worst economic crises. The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value since 2019. The banking system crumbled with much of the elderly’s life savings. The young are abandoning Lebanon in search of a more dignified life. Lebanese lack electricity and water, and food and medicine are difficult to import. The aid group Medonations imports medication and provides it to those who need it, and there are a few relief outlets for the vulnerable.

Some villagers thought it was just flooding, but it was searing, volcanic mud. We recently prayed for Indonesians on Java where Mount Semeru catastrophically erupted, killing dozens, burying whole communities, and making thousands homeless. Disasters are common across Indonesia’s islands - displacing millions by volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population: most of its 260 million people face tragedies without the hope of Jesus Christ. Those who choose to follow Jesus frequently face persecution from neighbors, family, and friends. As the people grieve another natural disaster, may increasing numbers be introduced to the only Hope of the world - Jesus Christ. Pray for Christians to boldly demonstrate and proclaim the grace and salvation of Jesus Christ. Pray for peace and protection for believers amid growing Islamic momentum and expansion. Pray for entire families to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

On 13 December, after two years of hearings, the Uyghur tribunal found the Chinese government guilty of crimes against humanity, systematic torture, and genocide against Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region. The founder of ChinaAid said, ‘The unanimous judgment by the independent tribunal after nearly two years of extensive hearings from a number of credible witnesses and experts that the Chinese Communist government had verifiably committed systematic genocide and crime against humanity (in particular against ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs and Kazakhs inside Xinjiang) is another vindication of the same finding by the international community. It further proves the brutality of the worst human rights violations in the modern history of China in the past seventy years. It is imperative both morally and legally for all of the free countries, especially the US and EU and international organisations such as the UN, to take immediate and urgent actions to stop these atrocities from happening before they get worse.’

The tallest mountain on Java erupted on 4 December, shooting columns of ash into the sky, blanketing surrounding villages. Pray for the rescue workers who are still digging through thick layers of hot ash and debris even as the volcano continues to erupt ash. Dozens of bodies have been found so far and thousands of people have been evacuated across 19 makeshift centres. Pray for the families who lived in the 3,000 damaged houses. Pray for the farmers who have lost livestock and livelihoods in areas buried in ash. Pray for the hundreds of homeless villagers who lived near a dam that burst due to cold lava and heavy rain, leaving everything submerged under sludge and ashy dust. Pray for those with burns and injuries from the initial eruption. Pray for vulnerable groups coping with highly polluted air, and pray for public kitchens and health facilities serving the displaced people.

As the Taliban quickly took over Afghanistan during the late summer of 2021, the world witnessed chaos, panic, and extreme violence. The Afghan Church was in the middle of the storm, facing ever-increasing danger as brutal tyrants took over their country. Persecution.org has raised its voice to urge the United States to safeguard Afghan Christians, who are predominantly composed of Muslim converts. This puts them at risk of death as the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law considers converts to be traitors to Islam. It is very possible that the Taliban will return to the violence and brutality that marked their earlier reign over Afghanistan. Already it seems that this could include punishments such as cutting off limbs and severe oppression of women’s rights, access to education  and religious freedom. Persecution.org is inviting people to sign a petition to Joe Biden asking Congress to create ways for these at-risk people to emigrate to America.

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has not been seen in public for over a month after accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault resulting in the Women's Tennis Association suspending all tournaments in China amid concern for her. WTA chief Steve Simon had ‘serious doubts’ that Peng was free, safe and not subject to intimidation. He said, ‘In good conscience, I don't see how I can ask our athletes to compete there. Equality was the founding pillar of the WTA 48 years ago. What was all that hard work for, if serious sexual assault allegations are allowed to be swept under the carpet? If powerful people can suppress the voices of women, then the basis on which the WTA was founded - equality for women - would suffer an immense setback. I will not and cannot let that happen to the WTA and its players.’ The suspension also includes tournaments in Hong Kong. The 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics are set to be held in Beijing in February and March.

India has the second-largest Christian population in Asia, but a recent report states that over 300 attacks on Christians took place in the first nine months of 2021. 169 of them were in four states: BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, tribal-dominated Jharkhand, and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. At least nine states have planned anti-conversion laws, including Chhattisgarh which has emerged as a ‘new laboratory’ for anti-Christian hatred in India. Over 1,000 people recently gathered for a Stop Religious Conversions rally - one in a series of events organised in the garb of anti-conversion protests. Addressing the gathering, a far-right Hindu leader urged the people to ‘arm themselves with axes to teach Christians indulging in conversions a lesson’.

In 2013, China's President Xi Jinping said that ‘whoever controls data has the upper hand’, and ever since he has been on a technological quest to build what some call a blueprint for a digital dictatorship. It would not only allow China's communist government to control huge volumes of data on its own citizens but also of those around the world. Dustin Carmack, who worked as chief of staff for the director of national intelligence, said, ‘You are talking about vast amounts of data they are running between, either in covert or overt cyber-attacks. In other realms, they are sucking up massive amounts of data around the globe that could have nefarious purposes in the long run.’ China has over 415 million surveillance cameras deployed throughout the country. Beijing uses digital currency, social security cards, social credit systems, and online interactions to keep an even closer eye on its citizens. Experts say China wants to be the global leader in exporting its authoritarian surveillance tech to other like-minded regimes.