13/10/2010 - Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Pastors Missing

Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Pastors Missing

Posted on: 2010-10-13 03:15:48

by Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News Correspondent

BEIJING, CHINA (Worthy News)-- Worthy News has just learned of two incidents of religious persecution in China, thanks to ChinaAid.

In the first, which took place in Qu County, Da Prefecture, Sichuan province, the Youqing Church on Sept. 26 was raided by police. Objects of value to the church were broken, books were confiscated, and members of the congregation were arrested and taken to the local police station. Family members of those arrested were requested to pay bail money to get the detainees out of jail.

On Sept. 29, 2010, four of the church members attempted to negotiate with Sichuan police in hopes of having the belongings that were confiscated returned to them. This was done in accordance to Chinese laws regarding places of worship. Instead of having the items returned to them, the members themselves were arrested.

In Henan provice, in the Wancheng District of Nanyang City, another house church was raided. All occupants of the church were arrested except for one elderly woman.

Two foreign pastors, one from the United States and the other from Russia, both present at the time of the raid, were arrested along with thier translator.

Ma Hanzhong, a member of the house church and arrested with the others was beaten. The location of the two foreign pastors are unknown at this time.

Henan province officials have threatened to sentence the detained believers to "re-education" (attempt to get them to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ) through labor.

Anyone interested in information about the location of the foreign pastors may call:

Russian Embassy: +86 106 532 1381
United States Embassy: +86 108 531 3000

1/10/2010 - Chinese Christians Attacked

Chinese Christians Attacked

Posted on: 2010-10-01 01:01:10

by Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News International Correspondent

JI'NAN, China (Worthy News)-- Members of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Changchunli Church in Ji'nan, Shandong province, were attacked by a mob of over 200 people last week, according to ChinaAid Association (CAA).

Zhao Jing and Cong Mei, information officers of China Human Rights Defenders, received the complaint on Sept. 23, 2010, stating that a large group of young people dressed in police attire broke into tents inhabited by the members of Changchunli Church at a construction site in Wanda Square.

Sixteen people, including elderly and women, sustained serious injuries, along with one person that was left permanently blind in one eye, according to CAA.

Believers immediately dialed the emergency police number (110), but police response was slow. Upon arrival the police officers acted more like bystanders than police, and did not speak with the victims, but land developers that were present. Some 300 believers later that day went to the municipal government to stage a protest and petition the police.

BEGINNINGS OF SORROWS

On July 7, 2008, the director and deputy director of the Ji'nan Municipal Bureau for Ethnic and Religious Affairs secretly negotiated with demolition and removal officials about claiming the church's property.

The presidents of Ji'nan Christian Council and Municipal Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee (Municipal CCC/TSPM) were manipulated, then the Municipal CCC/TSPM president signed an agreement authorizing the removal and demolition of Changchunli Church, an agreement that at least twice violated Regulations on Religious Affairs codes.

Management Committee officials and Changchunli church members were not made privy to the arrangement, and the land that belonged to the church was reduced from 1129.33 square meters (1234.734 yards) to just 300 square meters (328 sq. yards).

In an effort to force the belivers into accepting the contract, the Municipal Bureau for Ethnic And Religious Affairs made the Municipal CCC/TSPM on June 8, 2009: stop all religious activities of Changchunli, recall the chief pastor, cancel the church's management committee functions, and disperse its members. The decision was boycotted however, because the decision did not have any legal basis.

PROTESTING THE DECISION

Changchunli church members set up tents on the Wanda Square construction site because they were told by land developers that the area was designated as the site for another church. Upon realizing the congregation objected to it, developers changed their account and said they would be building an underground basement.

After setting up the tents and voicing their disagreements with the demolition decision, Changchunli Church then retold their story to Municipal CCC/TSPM directors and filed a report to a section chief of the Municipal Bureau for Ethnic and Religious Affairs.

After not receiving any responses to their report, church members submitted an application to the Municipal Public Security Bureau for a demonstration. Approval for the application was denied, and church members took matters into their own hands by building the tents on the construction site to prevent the illegal agreement from being put into practice.

Since 2008 when the initial agreement was issued, Changchunli Church members have reported to the Municipal Party Committee of Ji'nan, the municipal government, and other relevant agencies. Petitions and written letters have also been sent to the State Council and relevant ministries and commissions of the central government. The issue is still unsolved due to repeated delays, and as a result of such actions conflicts over the demolition and removal of the church has intensified, with the congregation now having to figure out how to handle these latest incidents.

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.)

16/07/2010 - Pentecostal Pastor Shot Dead In Dagestan

Pentecostal Pastor Shot Dead In Dagestan

Posted on: 2010-07-16 06:49:15

By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

MAKHACHKALA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News)-- The pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in Russia's violent, mainly Muslim republic of Dagestan, has died after being shot in the head, in an apparent bid to intimidate converts from Islam, Christian rights activists and police said Friday, July 16.

Artur Suleimanov, 49, himself a convert from Islam, was shot late Thursday, July 15, by a gunman who opened fire while the pastor got into a car outside his Hosanna House of Prayer Church in Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala, explained Barnabas Fund, an advocacy group supporting Christians in predominantly Muslim nations.

"He died from his wounds in hospital around an hour later," Barnabas Fund added in a statement to Worthy News and its partner agency BosNewsLife. A spokesman for Dagestan's police, Vyacheslav Gasanov, said it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the killing, which involved one or more attackers.

Dagestan, which is over 90 percent Muslim, is plagued by insurgent violence, with many of the militants inspired by or affiliated with Islamic separatists in neighboring Chechnya. Two militants were killed by police in a clash in the town of Khasavyurt the previous day, according to local police.

FAMILY LEFT BEHIND

Pastor Suleimanov leaves behind a wife, Zina, and five children, the youngest of whom is twelve years old, Barnabas Fund said.

"Pastor Suleimanov was a wonderful Christian brother and his shocking death is a devastating loss for the Dagestan church," added the group, which had close contacts with his congregation. "He and the Hosanna House of Prayer church were very active in ministry and outreach in particular. We see his murder as an attempt to put further pressure on Christian converts in Dagestan."

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

The attack came after the pastor recently spokeaboutalleged harassment by authorities. He said his church had a five-year agreement allowing prison visits "abruptly canceled in early 2010" while officials also "changed" their earlier positive assessment of the church's work with drug addicts.

Forum 18, another rights group, said several Pentecostal pastors have complained that their congregations' lack of freedom was "overwhelmingly due to public attitudes, which prevent some church members from attending Sunday worship even at openly functioning churches in urban locations."

MINISTRY DENIES WRONGDOING

Dagestan's Ministry for Nationality Policy, Information and External Affairs has reportedly denied it imposes restrictions on churches' social work, but added that "the Protestants' activity must be in line with the law."

Barnabas Fund said iturged its supporters in a message to pray that God "will comfort" Pastor Suleimanovs family and protect his and other churches.

They were also encouraged to pray that those responsible for the attack will be detained, and that local "Christians will not be intimidated by this act of violence."

5/01/2010 - Tajikistan Churches Face Closures, Uncertain Future

Tajikistan Churches Face Closures, Uncertain Future

Posted on: 2010-01-05 02:38:51

By Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest with Worthy News' Stefan J. Bos

DUSHANBE/BUDAPEST (Worthy News)-- Devoted Christians in several areas of Tajikistan faced uncertainty Tuesday, January 5, over the future of their churches after the former Soviet republic introduced a new religion law that the United States has criticized as highly restrictive.

The Religion Law, which came into forces on New Year's Day, empowers the government to impose stricter control of religious groups in the former Soviet republic that tolerates only the state-approved version of Islam.

Under the legislation groups that choose not to register with authorities or fail to gain re-registration will become illegal. All Christian and other religious organisations need to provide the national government with written confirmation of their existence from their local administration.

Christians say however that local officials have been slow at issuing confirmation documents or have deliberately refused to do so for groups that they did not like.

Less than half of the religious organizations known to authorities have been registered, according to estimates by the Culture Ministry's Head Department for Religious Affairs (HDRA).

TERRITORIAL RESTRICTIONS

HDRA officials have also imposed territorial restrictions on the activity of some non-Muslim groups, including Christian churches, during the re-registration process, according to Christians familiar with the procedures.

The measures cast doubts about the future of groups such as the Council of Churches Baptists which refuses on principle to register with the State. Last month, a Council congregation in Dushanbe was reportedly already banned by a local court.

The new law also imposes censorship on religious literature and restricts performing rituals to state-approved venues, making it even more difficult for evangelical missionaries and other Christians to openly evangelize.

In Tajikistan, religion has been a particularly thorny issue since President Imomali Rakhmon defeated an alliance of Islamists and liberals in a 1990s civil war.

Rakhmon has defended his decision to sign the controversial legislation and other measures. Worried about the resurgent Taliban militant group in neighboring Afghanistan, he says his main goal is to maintain political and economic stability in his impoverished homeland.

POLITICAL DISSENT

However countries across former Soviet Central Asia, including Tajikistan, have been criticized in the West for using the threat of religious extremism as an excuse to crack down on political dissent and religious groups outside state-sponsored Islam.

Protestant and Jewish communities are the main non-Muslim groups that have been targeted, according to rights activists. In 2008, Tajikistan even demolished the country's only synagogue to make way for a presidential palace.

In a gesture apparently aimed at sweetening the decision, Khasan Asadullozoda, Rahmon's brother-in-law, donated a new building to the Jewish community, community members said. "We are extremely grateful," said chief rabbi Mikhail Abdurakhmanov at the time. "Now we have a place of worship again."

The Religion Law seems part of Rahmon's efforts to strengthen his power base and legalise harsh policies already adopted towards the population, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said.

"The picture for religious freedom in Tajikistan is growing dim," said the Commission, which advises the U.S. government on religious freedom in the world. "The passage of this problematic new law could severely limit religious freedoms in Tajikistan," it added in a recent report.

Like elsewhere in Central Asia, most people in Tajikistan, a mountainous Persian-speaking nation, practice the Sunni branch of Islam, but there is a substantial Shi'ite minority.

5/12/2009 - China Sentences 10 Christian Leaders To Prison, Labor Camps

China Sentences 10 Christian Leaders To Prison, Labor Camps

Posted on: 2009-12-05 13:46:52

By Worthy News Asia Service with Worthy News' Stefan J. Bos



BEIJING, CHINA (Worthy News)-- China has sentenced 10 Christian leaders to long prison terms and forced labor camps as part of a wider government crackdown on unauthorized worship services, Worthy News learned Saturday, December 5.

Chinese Christians and rights activists confirmed that the leaders are from the large Linfen House Church, whose 50.000 members meet in buildings and private homes of individual believers in Shanxi province.

Five Linfen leaders, a man named as Li Shuangping and women Yang Hongzhen, Yang Caizhen, Gao Qin (also known as Gao Fuqin) and Zhao Guoai, received sentences of two years "re-education through labor camps" on November 30, said advocacy group China Aid Association (CAA), which has close links with house churches.

They were sentenced for "gathering people to disturb the public order" when organizing a prayer rally with some 1,000 believers on September 14, after their church was attacked by hunderds of police, according to Christians.

CAA said the detentions came after Pastors Yang Rongli, Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, Cui Jiaxing, and Zhang Huamei were sentenced up to seven years in prison on November 25 for "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses."

"Sister Yang Rongli received a seven years [imprisonment] sentence on both charges. For the first charge Pastor Wang received three years, brother Yang Xuan three and a half years and Cui Jiaxing four and a half years [imprisonment]...Sister Zhang Huamei was found guilty of the second charge and sentenced to four years in prison," CAA explained.

APPEAL PLANNED

All ten Christian leaders reportedly plan to appeal and protest what CAA called "these brutal and illegal actions."

"To arbitrarily send five innocent citizens to labor camps is in direct violation against the international human rights covenants and norms the Chinese government has signed and even ratified," said Bob Fu, a former house church pastor who now leads CAA .

"This case shows the Chinese government is determined to be on the wrong side of history by clenching its power with suppressing the basic freedom of religion and conscience for Chinese citizens. We call upon the international community to hold these rights abusers accountable," he added.

China has defended its human rights record, saying Christians are free to worship with the official churches. However observers say many of the country's estimated 130 million Christians prefer to worship outside control of the Communist government.