Displaying items by tag: China

The government wanted to install facial recognition cameras in Pastor Xiang En’s church sanctuary. When he refused they did it anyway and gathered the private data of church members so that they could target them. They will intimidate them with their jobs, their housing, and their children’s education to prevent them from going to church. Pastor Xiang said, ‘Hundreds of policemen raided our church, smashed our building, put the pastors on surveillance, and shut down the church.’ After his church was shut down the first sermon he preached was from Revelation 3:7-8: ‘I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.’ Pastor Xiang remains hopeful, despite the opposition his congregation faces. Many prominent mainstream churches and house churches in China continue to be shut down.

A woman who fled to China illegally was recently baptised, even though such an action could have resulted in her being repatriated and killed. Over two years ago, Bon-Hwa crossed the border into China, where it is illegal to help North Korean escapees. Despite the risk, Open Doors partners have set up ‘safe houses’ along the border for North Korean Christians, as well as for women who could be forced into a marriage. It was at one of these safe houses that Bon-Hwa became a Christian. It was too risky to be baptised in her new home town, so she and two other Christians, including the pastor, walked many hours to a remote location for the service. The pastor said he almost cried: ‘It was a beautiful moment and such a privilege to baptise a North Korean believer in these circumstances.’

Please watch this short and agonising video from China, a woman's desperate cry for help in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic. It confirms reports of the government suppressing news and ignoring doctors' warnings. From last week’s international prayer call, including a Christian leader from Wuhan, we heard that Chinese Christians are taking communion daily as protection from death, as ancient Jews did in the first Passover, and standing against the spread of coronavirus in prayer. Let's continue to pray with our Chinese brethren for the end of what could become a pandemic and for people everywhere to be protected. We know that the Lord in His redemptive love and wisdom can utilise bad things to bring forth good outcomes. May He use the current health and related economic crisis to bring real reform to the communist government of China so that the people finally obtain the human rights and freedoms they have longed for, so poignantly expressed in this brave woman's cry.

Christian Aid Mission has many Bible schools in China offering one- and two-year programmes, with training primarily focused on evangelism and the cost of discipleship. Seven days a week, faculty led morning prayers at 5 a.m. and evening prayers at 9p.m. Every Saturday, students divide into groups to evangelise their community. Due to the school’s excellent standing, home churches often invite students and faculty to preach and lead worship. They travel in pairs on bicycles to over forty house churches in the school’s vicinity. Over 120 students graduate from this Bible school each year. Students become teachers at the school, return to serve in their home churches, or plant new churches in various regions throughout China.

The Chinese government has introduced even tougher restrictions on religious freedom, requiring church leaders to ‘display complete devotion to the Communist Party’. The rules limit communications between churches and overseas organisations, including donations. But even before the new rules took effect on 1 February 2020, there were reports that Chinese officials were confiscating aid intended to help churches fighting coronavirus. Dr Lin, who gave early warning of the virus, was a Christian. A Chinese Christian wrote on social media, ‘Some overseas Christians shipped supplies designated to serve hospitals through local churches. Yet the supplies were confiscated and the Christian who received the shipment was invited to “have tea” with the police (a common practice to intimidate and threaten citizens).’ Despite increasing persecution, Christians in Wuhan have been handing out face masks on the street and sharing their faith with pedestrians.

Until 12 February the number of people with the virus in Hubei province, where coronavirus emerged, was stabilising, but new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 - with almost 60,000 infections in total. The World Health Organisation is seeking ‘further clarity’ from China about the changes to how cases of the virus are being confirmed. China is accused of suppressing the full extent of the outbreak in the past. A professor from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that China has changed the definition of what the disease really is. They are now including people who have lesser symptoms, but the fatality ratio is about the same as it has been - as high as the death rate in influenza. Only Hubei province, where 80% of overall Chinese infections are, is using the new definition to diagnose new cases.

A baby born in Wuhan was diagnosed with coronavirus thirty hours after birth. It is unclear if the disease was transmitted in the womb or after birth. Medical experts believe the infection could have been contracted in the womb. Pray for God to place a blanket of security and peace over the families and relatives of the infected who are currently living in isolation and fear. In China alone, there are 25,000+ confirmed cases, and currently 570+ dead with both numbers rising rapidly. The World Health Organisation says that there is a ‘window of opportunity’ to stop it becoming a global pandemic crisis. Pray for God to strengthen health workers and research scientists to do all that is necessary. May poorer countries’ leaders have the wisdom and funding to halt coronavirus spreading. May the love of Jesus spread more quickly and further than the virus, through active churches reaching every corner with His eternal hope. See

China's demand for wildlife products for traditional medicine and exotic foods is driving a global trade in endangered species. Markets selling live animals are considered a potential source of diseases that are new to humans. Over 70% of emerging human infections are estimated to have come from animals, particularly wild animals. Campaigners want China to apply a permanent ban on the wildlife trade. Pray that their crusade is successful and this trade becomes illegal. Editorials in China's state-controlled media have denounced the uncontrolled wildlife market. Ecologists say the coronavirus outbreak could provide China with an opportunity to prove that it is serious about protecting biodiversity. In September this year, Beijing will be hosting a major global meeting on natural and biological resources, known as the Convention on Biological Diversity. A report last year by an intergovernmental group found that one million species are at risk of extinction.

Please continue to pray for the success of thermal-imaging screening and other airport precautions to contain coronavirus. Over 130 people have died, and the total is rising daily; there are 6,000 confirmed cases, but due to under-reporting the true figure may well be much higher. Pray for those who have unwittingly been in contact with the virus to be discovered by investigating authorities, as only detective searches can bring this epidemic to an end. Currently there is no vaccine for the virus; may God help scientists make an antidote. Pray for His peace to surround the many frustrated people who are subject to limits on travel at home and abroad. Pray for the success of the information programme encouraging hand-washing. Praise God for a 1,000-bed coronavirus hospital , completed after 48 hours of construction, and for an even more ambitious hospital building project due to be completed by Monday. Pray for an equally speedy delivery of protective clothing for healthcare workers. See also

With rich countries like the US evacuating their students, Doctor Bakari, a Tanzanian PhD student, has become a leader for hundreds of students from poorer African countries stranded in Wuhan with little chance of escape. Beijing’s expanding influence on the youthful African continent means Africans are the second-largest population of foreign students. Over 4,000 are estimated to be in Wuhan alone. No one knows how long the lockdown will last, or all the ways the virus can spread. Students fear that angering Chinese or their country’s authorities could lead to retribution such as withdrawing scholarships. Kenya’s government had to defend itself against accusations that it was not helping its students. ‘Students don’t have a clue what’s going on’, says Bakari, who is sending updates on social media to 400+ Tanzanian students in Wuhan and hundreds more across China. ‘Together we are one family,’ his association tweeted, encouraging fellow Africans to take precautionary measures.