17/09/2010 - Taiwanese Pastor Seized and Released in China

Taiwanese Pastor Seized and Released in China

Posted on: 2010-09-17 03:00:04

by George Whitten, Worthy News International Correspondent

SHANDONG, CHINA (Worthy News)-- Taiwanese Pastor Lu Daihao was visiting with local pastors when the house church was raided by over 100 Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers and government officials on September 7, 2010, according to ChinaAid.

According to family members and coworkers in Taiwan, Pastor Lu was taken to a hotel and questioned about the audience and content of his message during the training session in Zibo City, Shandong. He was then given a meal and released.

Pastor Lu is a very well-known Christian evangelist in Taiwan. He received two PhDs in Theology and Education while in the United States, and is now studying Philosophy at Beijing University. He converted to Christianity while serving a prison sentence for his crimes as the ringleader of a prominent group of gangsters in his home country. He has now dedicated his life to full-time ministry, especially to those who are currently imprisoned.

The Chinese government has allowed Pastor Lus visits into China, including his preaching and evangelism in recent years. He has even received positive press about his life and legacy from some of the government-controlled media outlets.

The house church members in Zibo City are still uncertain about his current location.

The persecution of Christians in China comes amid concerns among Communist Party officials about the spread of Christianity in China, Worthy News established. Some officials recently suggested there are about 130-million Christians in China, 50-million more than previous estimates. Most of them are believed to worship in the 'underground' house churches as they do not want to gather in the Communist approved denominations.

1/09/2010 - Turkmenistan: Protestant Pastor Faces Five Years Imprisonment

Turkmenistan: Protestant Pastor Faces Five Years Imprisonment

Posted on: 2010-09-01 00:58:36

By Joseph C. DeCaro

MARY, TURKMENISTAN (Worthy News)-- A Pentecostal pastor remained in police custody Tuesday, August31, in Turkmenistan where he faces five years imprisonment and confiscation of properties for "large-scale swindling", charges his wife and church members strongly deny, rights activists said.

Police arrested Ilmurad Nurliev, pastor of Peace to the World Pentecostal Church, for allegedly swindling money from two women who attended church meetings, although church members deny that ever happened.

"I was out at work when the police arrested my husband," said Maya Nurlieva, "and the first I knew was when he was allowed to call me from the investigator's office."

She said police refused to allow her to meet her husband and have also refused to give her any document certifying his arrest or detailing the reasons for it.

Maya said after her husband was arrested, police confiscated his certificate in preaching and refused to return it; they also took 150 dollars he had in his pocket.

"All they gave back to me were the keys to our flat," she said.

Maya said that police and the investigators refused to discuss her husband's case with her.

INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

Turkmenistan, which has a heavily Muslim population, is under international pressure to improve religious rights and to protect its tiny Christian minority.

The government is seen as the region's most autocratic. Christians and other devoted religious groups are often seen as a threat to its power base, rights groups have suggested. The government has made clear however it wants to distance itself from former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. Last week, a prominent 12-meter golden statue of Niyazov was taken down in the capital Ashgabat -- a move further eroding the personality cult around the late Central Asian leader.

Workers removed the statue on August 25 and were dismantling the base on August 26, said Radio Free Europe.The Arch of Neutrality was a centerpiece of the capital, Ashgabat, and the most distinctivemonument built in honor of Niyazov.

The statue stood on a 70-meter white tile-clad tripod and rotated to face the sun. Niyazov -- who renamed himself the Great Turkmenbashi, the "Father of All Turkmen" -- died in 2006 after two decades of iron-fisted rule.

(With additional reporting from Worthy News International Correspondent Stefan Bos.)