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China

• Pastor Charged with 'Fraud' and 'Disrupting Public Order'

  Zhang Shaojie Photo: ChinaAid

  Zhang Shaojie, 49, a pastor detained in November of 2013 along with over 20 other Christians, has been charged with committing fraud and gathering a mob to disrupt public order. His criminal hearing has been scheduled for February 12th.

• Update on Alimujiang Yimiti

  Alimujiang Yimiti Photo: Open Doors

  This month marks Alimujiang Yimiti's sixth year in prison. Alimujiang was first charged in 2009 for "providing state secrets to overseas organizations." However, many believe the real reason for his incarceration is his zealous commitment to share the Gospel and for leading a church in the Uyghur area of China's northwest.

  Alimujiang has been imprisoned since January of 2008. The following year he was sentenced to 15 years in detention. In April of 2010, his wife, Gulnur, was finally permitted to visit him for the first time since his imprisonment. Tragically, their son, who was only four years old at the time, could barely even recognize his father. At last report, Gulner is only able to visit her husband once per month at the most. (To learn more about Alimujiang's case, please click here.)

• Detainment of Members from State-Approved Church

  Pray for Pastor Zhang and the members of his Christian family. Photo: ChinaAid

  More than 20 believers from Nanle County Christian Church, a state-approved church in Henan province, were recently detained. The arrests began on the morning of November 16th, when the pastor, Zhang Shaojie, arrived at the church for a meeting with the Nanle County Public Security Bureau Chief and a deputy. However, sources believe the meeting was actually a ploy to detain the pastor. When Pastor Zhang arrived, approximately a dozen police officers, without showing formal documents, entered the church and bound him.

• House Church Pastor Attacked by Government Agents

  Li Shuangping Photo: ChinaAid

  Li Shuangping, pastor of Linfen house church, was abducted, beaten and threatened by government agents on the night of August 13th. While Li was driving to his home in Shanxi province, a man who appeared to be drunk staggered in front of his vehicle, at which point Li stopped. A black sedan pulled up alongside Li, and three men hurried out. The men forcibly seized Li from his vehicle, with help from the man who pretended to be drunk, and dragged him into the sedan. As one man drove, the other three restrained and harassed him in the backseat. After blindfolding him and tying him with a rope, they beat him for the duration of the journey, inflicting noticeable wounds on his head, neck and torso. The driver strayed from the main roads until reaching a cornfield, where the other men pushed Li out of the sedan.

• Churches Raided as Shouwang Pastors Remain under House Arrest

  Shouwang Church members worshipping outdoors regardless of the weather condition Photo: ChinaAid

  Local police broke up the worship service of a house church and arrested its pastor in China's Xinjiang region for the second time. On August 4th, at least 20 police officers shut down the worship service and arrested Pastor Tan Wen. As with the previous service disruption and arrest, which took place on June 9th, the officers did not properly identify themselves or follow correct procedures.

  The worship services of two other house churches in the Xinjiang region were disrupted (June 23rd and July 21st), also resulting in detentions and fines. In all four raids within this region, police not only failed to show identification, they imposed penalties that had no basis in law as such matters are regulated by the Bureau of Religion.

• More police raids in China

  

  ChinaAid has reported a police raid against Shouwang Church in Beijing. On Sunday, August 11, 2013, police burst into the church and arrested at least thirty-eight parishioners.

  Most of the detainees were released before evening. Approximately one third were discharged immediately after filing a police report. None of them are still in custody.

  One woman from Shouwang Church claims she was abused during the ordeal. A deputy director allegedly grabbed her throat and pulled her hair.

• The Legacy of Samuel Lamb (1924 – 2013)

  Christian Today has reported that Samuel Lamb, a long-time leader of China’s house church movement, passed away on Saturday, August 3, at age 88. Lamb famously shared the precept “more persecution, more growth.” He urged Christians to be prepared to suffer for their faith, even advising them to pack a bag for prison.

• Christian Bookstore Raid Leads to Arrests and Imprisonment

  Wenxi Li

  A Christian bookstore employee, Wenxi Li, and another man associated with the bookstore, Lacheng Ren, were arrested and sentenced to prison terms for their role in assisting with the opening of a new bookstore. On June 17th, 2013, Wenxi was sentenced to two years in prison by the court of Xiaodian district of Taiyuan in central China.

  In 2012, Wenxi travelled from Beijing to Shanxi province to help local Christians there open a new bookstore in the capital city of Taiyuan. While he was working at the Enyu Bookstore, police raided the new business and confiscated hundreds of books that he had brought with him. According to the "South China Morning Post," one security worker allegedly shouted at Wenxi and his colleagues, "Don't you dare bring Christian culture here. This is our turf."

  On December 19th, 2012, Wenxi was asked to come to a police station to retrieve the $6,000 worth of books that had been seized. But when he arrived at the police station, he was immediately arrested and sent to prison. Police were quoted as saying Wenxi was denied bail because of the seriousness of his "crime." (Other alerts of persecution in China can be found at the China Country Report.)

  Since Wenxi's arrest, his wife Cai Hong and their two children have received harassment from anonymous sources. She has expressed concern for the children's safety. But despite the harassment, the family is proceeding to appeal his case. The good news is that Wenxi has already led three people to Christ while in prison awaiting trial.

  It is encouraging to know that God is greater in us than "he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The Lord is clearly working in and through the lives of His servants...even in the most challenging of circumstances. We rejoice with the angels in heaven over the salvation of these three newly converted prisoners! May the Lord continue the good work that He has begun in each of their lives. We also want to lift up Wenxi and his precious family, as well as his colleague Lacheng. Pray that these believers will be granted divine protection, favour and even greater opportunities to testify of their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Bible study raided

  Xingjiang Christian Zhu Jinfeng was holding her monthly Bible study with her elderly neighbors when local police stormed into her home in Urumqi reports ChinaAid Association. The group was dismissed and 60-year-old Zhu was briefly detained before being charged with conducting "illegal" activity and fined 200 yuan (about CAN$34).

  Zhu says she plans to appeal her case believing the police’s actions infringed upon her rights.

• Government Shuts Down Numerous House Churches

  Photo: ChinaAid

  The Chinese government has ordered the closure of more than a dozen house churches in the southern province of Hainan in recent weeks and many others have been threatened. On May 26th, while the Sanya Hosanna Church was holding a morning worship service, several people from the Religious Affairs Bureau and the neighbourhood committee came to deliver a document with the title, "Announcement by the Hongqi Street Community of the Voluntary Dissolution of Irregular and Illegal Religious Meeting Sites." They told the believers that if they met again the next week, then the officials would take measures, holding them accountable for the consequences.

  The local neighbourhood committee also exerted pressure on the landlord to stop renting the meeting site to the church, which was given 15 days' notice to move out. The leader of the church was also restricted from going to Hong Kong to attend a special conference; the reason given was that it might jeopardize national security and national interests.

  Also on May 26th, three other Sanya house churches (Elim Church, Bethel Church and Xinju Church) faced the same kind of persecution. Two weeks earlier, Sanya's Mengai Church, Hexing Church, and three other house churches were shut down. A church in Haikou has experienced similar treatment, and several other churches have been forcibly closed. In addition, some churches in the Baoting county have been shut down.

  "Closing a dozen churches in Hainan is an alarming sign that little has changed with Xi Jinping as president," said ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu. "The government is carrying out its plans to 'eradicate' the independent house church movement, a crackdown that would affect up to 100 million people. China must end this repression if it wants global respect as a rising power."

  Pray that these believers will be greatly encouraged spiritually, cultivating a deeper relationship with the Lord as they embrace the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:7-10). Ask that His faithful servants be granted mercy and favour with the officials of the Religious Affairs Bureau and members of the neighbourhood committee. May their oppressors discover the joy and peace of personally knowing Jesus, as witnessed in the lives of these Christians...even in the midst of life's challenges.