Asia Harvest – The Brutal Persecution of the Chinese Church

A real picture of a Chinese believer named Huang Xikai being tortured by Communist police

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

Although the Apostle Paul didn’t go into detail about the kind of pressure he was under when he visited areas in present-day Turkey, it’s interesting that the Greek words he used here were in relation to what occurs when a heavy stone, weighing as much as 300 pounds, was slowly lowered onto the chest of a restrained person to torture them. The pressure gradually increased as the stone came down, making it almost impossible to breath. The victim was immobilized, unable to move forward or back. They were completely helpless. That’s the kind of pressure Paul experienced when sharing the gospel.

As believers, we often face hardships, but many times we manage to find an escape route, or at least we are able to delay the pain. Sometimes, however, there are no options available, and we must be totally stripped of all props. God is able to bring us to a place of utter helplessness in ourselves or in other people. All we are left with is Jesus, and if He does not sustain us, we will die.

When we get to this place, we will be able to say with Paul that we “rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Indeed, God did figuratively raise Paul from the dead on that and many other occasions, and he continued to establish God’s kingdom among the Gentiles until the day God called him home.

In China today, many Christians also feel like Paul did. Since President-for-life, Xi Jinping, announced his plans to clamp down on religion, massive persecution has broken out against God’s people, in ways that have not been seen since Mao’s demonic campaigns to destroy Christianity from the 1950s to the 1970s.

In this newsletter, and subsequent issues, we plan to share a thorough overview of what is going on in China today, especially in relation to the Body of Christ.

(Read HERE the rest of this article.)

A Message from an Imprisoned Chinese House Church Leader

Pastor Wang Yi & his wife

In October, house church pastor Wang Yi (pictured above with his wife) sat down and wrote a “Declaration of Faithful Disobedience,” as he saw the storm clouds of persecution about to close in on him and his church. He instructed his fellow elders to hold the letter and only release it after he had been arrested more than 48 hours.

That moment came on the morning of Sunday December 9th, when officers from China’s Public Security Bureau raided Wang’s Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu. The church leaders were among 100 believers arrested and taken away that morning. Many have not been heard from since. Just before Christmas, a further 60 church members were detained, with some taken into China’s notorious “black jail” system, where people are tortured mercilessly without anyone knowing their whereabouts. Here is Wang Yi’s declaration:

“On the basis of the teachings of the Bible and the mission of the gospel, I respect the authorities God has established in China. For God deposes kings and raises up kings. This is why I submit to the historical and institutional arrangements of God in China.

As a pastor of a Christian church, I have my own understanding and views, based on the Bible, about what righteous order and good government is. At the same time, I am filled with anger and disgust at the persecution of the church by this Communist regime, at the wickedness of their depriving people of the freedoms of religion and of conscience. But changing social and political institutions is not the mission I have been called to, and it is not the goal for which God has given his people the gospel.

For all hideous realities, unrighteous politics, and arbitrary laws manifest the cross of Jesus Christ, the only means by which every Chinese person must be saved. They also manifest the fact that true hope and a perfect society will never be found in the transformation of any earthly institution or culture but only in our sins being freely forgiven by Christ and in the hope of eternal life.

As a pastor, my firm belief in the gospel, my teaching, and my rebuking of all evil proceeds from Christ’s command in the gospel and from the unfathomable love of that glorious King. Every man’s life is extremely short, and God fervently commands the church to lead and call any man to repentance who is willing to repent. Christ is eager and willing to forgive all who turn from their sins. This is the goal of all the efforts of the church in China—to testify to the world about our Christ, to testify to the Middle Kingdom about the Kingdom of Heaven, to testify to earthly, momentary lives about heavenly, eternal life. This is also the pastoral calling that I have received.

For this reason, I accept and respect the fact that this Communist regime has been allowed by God to rule temporarily. As the Lord’s servant John Calvin said, wicked rulers are the judgment of God on a wicked people, the goal being to urge God’s people to repent and turn again toward Him. For this reason, I am joyfully willing to submit myself to their enforcement of the law as though submitting to the discipline and training of the Lord.

At the same time, I believe that this Communist regime’s persecution against the church is a greatly wicked, unlawful action. As a pastor of a Christian church, I must denounce this wickedness openly and severely. The calling that I have received requires me to use non-violent methods to disobey those human laws that disobey the Bible and God. My Savior Christ also requires me to joyfully bear all costs for disobeying wicked laws.

But this does not mean that my personal disobedience and the disobedience of the church is in any sense “fighting for rights” or political activism in the form of civil disobedience, because I do not have the intention of changing any institutions or laws of China. As a pastor, the only thing I care about is the disruption of man’s sinful nature by this faithful disobedience and the testimony it bears for the cross of Christ.

As a pastor, my disobedience is one part of the gospel commission. Christ’s great commission requires of us great disobedience. The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another world.

For the mission of the church is only to be the church and not to become a part of any secular institution. From a negative perspective, the church must separate itself from the world and keep itself from being institutionalized by the world. From a positive perspective, all acts of the church are attempts to prove to the world the real existence of another world. The Bible teaches us that, in all matters relating to the gospel and human conscience, we must obey God and not men. For this reason, spiritual disobedience and bodily suffering are both ways we testify to another eternal world and to another glorious King.

This is why I am not interested in changing any political or legal institutions in China. I’m not even interested in the question of when the Communist regime’s policies persecuting the church will change. Regardless of which regime I live under now or in the future, as long as the secular government continues to persecute the church, violating human consciences that belong to God alone, I will continue my faithful disobedience. For the entire commission God has given me is to let more Chinese people know through my actions that the hope of humanity and society is only in the redemption of Christ, in the supernatural, gracious sovereignty of God.

If God decides to use the persecution of this Communist regime against the church to help more Chinese people to despair of their futures, to lead them through a wilderness of spiritual disillusionment and through this to make them know Jesus, if through this he continues disciplining and building up his church, then I am joyfully willing to submit to God’s plans, for his plans are always benevolent and good.

Precisely because none of my words and actions are directed toward seeking and hoping for societal and political transformation, I have no fear of any social or political power. For the Bible teaches us that God establishes governmental authorities in order to terrorize evildoers, not to terrorize doers of good. If believers in Jesus do no wrong then they should not be afraid of dark powers. Even though I am often weak, I firmly believe this is the promise of the gospel. It is what I’ve devoted all of my energy to. It is the good news that I am spreading throughout Chinese society.

I also understand that this happens to be the very reason why the Communist regime is filled with fear at a church that is no longer afraid of it.

If I am imprisoned for a long or short period of time, if I can help reduce the authorities’ fear of my faith and of my Savior, I am very joyfully willing to help them in this way. But I know that only when I renounce all the wickedness of this persecution against the church and use peaceful means to disobey, will I truly be able to help the souls of the authorities and law enforcement. I hope God uses me, by means of first losing my personal freedom, to tell those who have deprived me of my personal freedom that there is an authority higher than their authority, and that there is a freedom that they cannot restrain, a freedom that fills the church of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

Regardless of what crime the government charges me with, whatever filth they fling at me, as long as this charge is related to my faith, my writings, my comments, and my teachings, it is merely a lie and temptation of demons. I categorically deny it. I will serve my sentence, but I will not serve the law. I will be executed, but I will not plead guilty.

Moreover, I must point out that persecution against the Lord’s church and against all Chinese people who believe in Jesus Christ is the most wicked and the most horrendous evil of Chinese society. This is not only a sin against Christians. It is also a sin against all non-Christians. For the government is brutally and ruthlessly threatening them and hindering them from coming to Jesus. There is no greater wickedness in the world than this.

If this regime is one day overthrown by God, it will be for no other reason than God’s righteous punishment and revenge for this evil. For on earth, there has only ever been a thousand-year church. There has never been a thousand-year government. There is only eternal faith. There is no eternal power.

Those who lock me up will one day be locked up by angels. Those who interrogate me will finally be questioned and judged by Christ. When I think of this, the Lord fills me with a natural compassion and grief toward those who are attempting to and actively imprisoning me. Pray that the Lord would use me, that he would grant me patience and wisdom, that I might take the gospel to them.

Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith; no one can make me change my life; and no one can raise me from the dead.

And so, respectable officers, stop committing evil. This is not for my benefit but rather for yours and your children’s. I plead earnestly with you to stay your hands, for why should you be willing to pay the price of eternal damnation in hell for the sake of a lowly sinner such as I?

Jesus is the Christ, son of the eternal, living God. He died for sinners and rose to life for us. He is my king and the king of the whole earth yesterday, today, and forever. I am his servant, and I am imprisoned because of this. I will resist in meekness those who resist God, and I will joyfully violate all laws that violate God’s laws.”

The Lord’s servant,

Wang Yi

‘Like a jail without bars’: what it’s like working in China with women refugees from North Korea

Hwa-Young* works in China with women who fled North Korea or were abducted by people traffickers and taken across the border. Many of the women are tempted to leave behind a miserable life when they are told there are jobs waiting for them in China. But often they are sold on to brothels or into marriages with poor Chinese Korean men.

Source: ‘Like a jail without bars’: what it’s like working in China with women refugees from North Korea

Please rememer this in your prayers.

After Removing 400 Crosses, China Proposes Where Churches Can Put Them Instead | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com

After Removing 400 Crosses, China Proposes Where Churches Can Put Them Instead | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com.

China continues to be a real shame in terms of religious freedom.

The Cross – Jesus in China – Parts 2 and 3

Part 2 – Seeds of Blood & Part 3 – The Bitter Cup

The Cross – Jesus in China – Parts 1 and 4

Part 1 – The Spring of Life & Part 4 – The Canaan Hymns

My Most Understanding Friend – A Canaan Hymn, by Xiao Min

If, after viewing The Canaan Hymns documentary, you have wondered how do Xiao Min’s hymns sound like and what are their lyrics, here is an example, the hymn ”My Most Understanding Friend’, inspired by “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

My Most Understanding Friend 
Music and lyrics by Xiao Min

Lord, You are my most understanding friend,
Lord, You are my dearest companion.
You are always on my mind, every day,
I long to see Your face.

At every stage of my life,
During each little pause in my life,
Your hand is always holding me,
Keeping me by Your side,

Telling me the path which I should take,
That I might not slide towards death!
How long, how wide, how deep and high is Your love!
From the depths of my heart, I am in awe!

With You, I need nothing else!
My heart is joined to Yours!
I have vowed to follow You and never change my mind!

(Source, HERE)

The Canaan Hymns

This is the amazing story of Xiao Min, a very gifted composer in the house churches in China.

This is part of a four episodes documentary titled ‘The Cross – Jesus in China’.

OMF – Challenges for the Church in China

Oversees Missionary Fellowship (OMF) International is a missionary organisation created by James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905). It was called initially China Inland Mission.

A recent article published on the OMF website describes four current challenges for the church in China. THey are:

1. The challenge of rich and poor.

The challenge to the church is how to reach the rural and urban poor. Methodism reached the masses and transformed society in 18^th century Britain, but by Victorian times it had often become “respectable” and lost its cutting edge. It would be a tragedy if the Chinese church goes along the same road.

A Government Mouthpiece Reports on a Missionary Movement | ChinaSource

A Government Mouthpiece Reports on a Missionary Movement | ChinaSource.

This is quite remarkable. An official Chinese journal comments of the dangerous missionary endeavours of Chinese Christians in Muslim countries.

Glen Osborn – What Encourages Making Disciples Among Chinese Scholars in America

China Outreach Ministries (COM) has focused on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with Chinese for more than fifty-five years. Currently, we are involved in a strategic opportunity with China’s future leaders who are studying at American universities. There are over 300,000 Chinese students and scholars here, and COM has contact with them at fifty-two universities across North America. These top intellectuals are curious about the gospel and are touched by the love they receive from Christians they meet. Many become serious seekers, and some come to faith in Christ. We prayerfully work to prepare them to return to China as faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus.

Because of this great opportunity, we wanted to discover how God is touching the lives of Chinese intellectuals in the United States and how we can best cooperate with the working of the Spirit. I had the privilege of doing research in this area for a Doctor of Ministry at Columbia International University. The title of my dissertation is “Factors Encouraging or Impeding the Process of Making Disciples Among Chinese Scholars in the United States.” COM staff administered surveys, both online and in person, with over sixty Chinese scholars who came to the United States without faith in Christ and have since become Christians. These Chinese scholars were asked questions regarding what God used in their lives to bring them to faith, what obstacles they encountered, and how Christian workers either helped or impeded the process.

China Source – Ten Lessons from the Church in China

• God’s ways are not our ways. Before 1949, optimistic China missionaries imagined that, under the most favorable conditions, there would be 15 million Christians in China. God had a different plan. Today, it is several times that number. (Brent Fulton)
• The true nature of the church. Much of the spectacular growth took place after believers had been stripped of everything we normally associate with church – Bibles, church buildings, denominations, pastors, and trained leaders. What remained was a core group of committed disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, worshiping, fellowshipping, learning, and serving together – the true marks of the church. (Brent Fulton)

What the Church in China Needs

China might have just exceeded this last month of 2014 the US economy. This fact is bound to also have an impact of the growing Christian community in this most populous country in the world. What does the Church in China need at this particular time in its history. Here are a few suggestions, from ChinaSource.

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Leaders that Last

China’s Christian leaders not only need Biblical and theological education and training in ministry skills; to be effective over the long term they also need ongoing mentoring, and they need to be mentoring others. Personal soul care is necessary so that they might remain strong and have the spiritual resources to minister to those whom they lead.

Inside China’s Secret Churches: How Christians Practice Their Faith Under An Atheist Government

Inside China’s Secret Churches: How Christians Practice Their Faith Under An Atheist Government.

You have to read this. It might motivate you to pray more earnestly for the persecuted Christians in China.

China’s Nobel Nominee Lawyer Released After Three Years

Geng He, wife of imprisoned Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng,
speaks at a press conference. ‎January‎ ‎18‎, ‎2011(Nina Lincoff/Medill News Service / Flickr / Creative Commons)

Prominent defender of persecuted Christians, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Gao Zhisheng was released from prison last week after his most recent three-year sentence. But doubt remains over whether he will be allowed to leave the country to be with his family in the United States.

Zhisheng, 50, is a Christian lay leader as well as a Beijing-based lawyer. He came to prominence for defending activists and religious minorities before Chinese authorities closed down his law practice in 2005, and arrested him for ‘subversion’ a year later, a charge that is often used by China against government critics.

Chinese Lawyer Gao Zhisheng Is Free!

Christianity Today announced that Gao Zhisheng is free. Thanks be to God!

I am late with this news, but it is still good to look into this story. The well known Christian Chinese lawyer, who was was condemned to eight years in prison for defending the Falun Gong believers is finally free. More or less, as you will see below.

Please continue to pray for him, as he may seek to be reunited with his family, who lives now in the US.

Here are some extracts from the media on his release.

Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, China, Was Demolished

According to UCA News: an independent Catholic news service that focuses on Asia:

“Roads leading to the Sanjiang Church were blocked this morning (April 28). Armed police and officers from the Special Task Force were dispatched to the district,” said a Protestant source who asked not to be named

The source added that security forces have also made several arrests, “At least five Sanjiang Church leaders as well as Xu Kede, a pastor at the nearby Tengqiao Church who visited Sanjiang over the weekend, have now been detained,” the source said.

Read more on this HERE.

You may also read in The Telegraph the article

China accused of anti-Christian campaign as church demolition begins

Chinese church protests against arrest of 23 members

Chinese church protests against arrest of 23 members.

China pretends to be a civilised country, but persecution against Christians and violations of human rights continue relentlessly.

God’s Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian’s Fight for Freedom

God’s Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian’s Fight for Freedom, by Bob Fu, from ChinaAid, is a new book on the situation of the church under Chinese communism.

God’s people are hiding in plain sight

Tens of millions of Christians live in China today, leading double lives to hide from a government that relentlessly persecutes them.

World Watch Monitor – Chinese house church leader Samuel Lamb dies

Rev. Samuel Lamb

Summary
One of the most well-known Christian leaders in China, Pastor Samuel Lamb, died on Saturday (Aug 3) in Guangzhou, aged 88.

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Chinese house church leader Samuel Lamb dies

One of the most well-known Christian leaders in China, Pastor Samuel Lamb, died on Saturday (Aug 3) in Guangzhou, aged 88.

He had been arrested during one of the first big waves of persecution in Mao’s China and was first imprisoned from 1955 to 1957, when estimates put the number of Christians in the country at a few million.

Lamb, also translated from the original Chinese as ‘Lam’, was targeted by the government because of his refusal to merge his illegal house church into the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the state-regulated Protestant Church.

The Chinese authorities sentenced him a second time in 1958, when he spent 20 years in labour camps.

Interviu cu Fratele Yun

Puteti asculta AICI un interviu cu Fratele Yun, inregistrat in timpul vizitei lui in Romania.

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Mari Blaj – Cum construim un Babel

Ajung la Beijing dupa-amiaza tarziu. E rece, fulguise peste zi, e o ceata deasa ca in “Hiroshima” lui Jebeleanu. Ma ia de la aeroport prietena mea T. In drum spre hotel ma previne ca locuim intr-un hutong. Nu inteleg deloc ce e aia, doar ca e aproape de centru, intr-unul dintre cartierele vechi ale orasului. Cand ajungem e déjà intuneric. Intram pe o straduta ingusta si mizera, printre cladiri mici, lipite una de alta, cu acoperisuri ca de pagoda. Am un sentiment neplacut, de discomfort. Insa am incredere in T., e un foarte bun travel manager, asadar merg pe mana ei. Intram intr-o receptie mica. Gazdele sunt dragute, fara aere de profesionalism scrobit. Imi place enorm tapetul de culoarea ceaiului, cu caligrafie chinezeasca si crengute de cires inflorit.

A doua zi aveam sa pricep ce e hutongul in toata splendoarea lui. In zilele care au urmat m-am plimbat in diverse astfel de cartiere, unele cu locuinte, pravalii inghesuite si taverne, altele mai elegante, turistice, cu buticuri, galerii de arta, cafenele. Hutong e un vechi cuvant mongol si inseamna “fantana”, ceea ce lasa sa se inteleaga geneza acestor conglomerate pseudo-urbane. Ai tot felul de suprize: asternuturi la aerisit, dessouuri la uscat, gaste ingrozitor de murdare, restaurante decente alaturi de altele insalubre. Bicicletele sunt o realitate de sine-statatoare. Stradutele dintre sirurile lungi de cladiri par a fi cu sens unic, dar se circula in ambele sensuri. De dupa usi apar copii murdari si femei stilate. Pe unul dintre ziduri – un afis: aici s-a nascut si a crescut ultima regina a ultimei dinastii chineze, la inceputul secolului trecut! Nici acum nu mi-a trecut mirarea… Aud ca guvernul planuieste sa demoleze aceste cartiere si sa le reconstruiasca. Imi amintesc ceva planuri de urbanism maret din anii ’80 in Bucuresti…

Chinese Communists Plan to Wipe Out House Churches

Report: Government-sponsored persecution rose 42 percent in 2012.

China’s Christians felt a noticeable rise in persecution in 2012 as the Communist government began the first of a three-phase plan to eradicate unregistered house churches, a new report says.

Incidents of persecution of Christians rose by about 42 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the report by human rights group China Aid. Many of these incidents involved groups of Christians. In total, the number of individual persecuted Christians rose by roughly 14 percent and total individual detentions increased by nearly 12 percent. China Aid said overall total persecution in six categories was about 13 percent worse than in 2011—though China Aid termed its statistics just “the tip of the iceberg.”

At least 132 incidents of persecution affecting 4,919 Christians—442 of whom were clergy—were reported in the country last year, according to China Aid’s annual report. The Texas-based group tracked detention of at least 1,441 Christians, the sentencing of nine of them, and the abuse (verbal, mental and physical, including beatings and torture) of 37 Christians.

Mari Blaj – Religii, religii…

Prietena noastra Mari Blaj calatoreste in China in aceasta perioada, si mi-a trimis doua texte pe care mi-a permis sa le impartasesc cu voi pe blog. Iata-l pe primul dintre ele, cuprinzind citeva impresii fugare legate de viata religioasa din China, si paralele cu cea de la noi.

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Templul lui Lama are cea mai activa viata religioasa. E, de fapt, o “lamaserie”, un soi de seminar teologic pentru clerici budisti (care e pluralul romanesc de la ‘lama’?), construit in sex. XVIII in jurul unui templu. Pe vremea cand in Europa se punea de revolutii si intronam actrite la Notre Dame, aici lumea isi vedea de treaba, construia. E plin de calugari foarte ocupati, de lumanari (colorate), de flori de plastic (mari), de tamaie (multa) , de fructe si esarfe de matase aduse ofranda in fata unor statui enorme, imense, hidoase, din lemn de santal alb sau rosu – spun iscriptiile – invizibil sub poleiala de auriu, steaguri si roti de rugaciune, nenumarate suluri si roti de scripturi tibetane invelite cu grija in panza galbena groasa, dar aruncate gramada intr-un colt de sala,, credinciosi localnici, turisti initiati sau detasati, etc. Imi aminteste perfect de atmosfera de la Lavra sau de oricare dintre manastirile noastre mari.

Forum 18: China – Should religious freedom be a “core interest”?

By Magda Hornemann, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org&gt;

Why does the Chinese state adopt measures that result in freedom of religion and belief violations? A fundamental explanation might be found among the Chinese leadership’s concept of the country’s “core interests”, such as territorial integrity and social stability. Religious freedom might significantly improve if the Chinese state changes its view of the relationship between its “core interests” and religious freedom. Indeed, the Chinese leadership should seriously consider designating and implementing the protection of freedom of religion and belief as one of its core interests. Doing so will do more to bolster the state’s stability and legitimacy than the use of violent force against unarmed civilians. It will require much courage and determination for the new Chinese leadership to accept this reality and take positive measures to respond to the situation. But a failure to do so may result in significant negative political consequences for the Chinese state.

What might lead to an improvement in China’s freedom of religion or belief record? Are there any long-term factors that would influence China’s new political leaders to improve the situation – or indeed to go in the opposite direction? Any analysis of such long-term prospects must take into account macro political factors, given that China’s political establishment views religious freedom and related human rights through the lens of their perception of their political interests.

Daniel Wong – China: comunism si prigoana

Iata un alt film dintr-o serie despre persecutia crestina sub comunism. De data aceasta despre China.

http://blip.tv/resurse-pipera/daniel-wong-china-comunism-si-prigoana-6142757

Lansare de carte – Noua comentarii despre Partidul Comunist

 

Ziarul The Epoch Times va invita la lansarea in Romania a cartii „Noua Comentarii despre Partidul Comunist” miercuri, 8 decembrie 2010, ora 17:00, la Muzeul „Mihai Eminescu”.

Noua Comentarii despre Partidul Comunist reprezinta o serie de editoriale tiparite in luna noiembrie 2004 de ziarul DaiJiYuan, editia in limba chineza a ziarului The Epoch Times (www.theepochtimes.com).

Chinese Christian Poet Li Bifeng Condemned on False Charges

After being illegally detained for more than a year, Christian poet Li Bifeng was sentenced with a fabricated charge of “contract fraud,” stemming from a legitimate business deal. As of the November 19th sentence, the dissident poet is now facing 12 more years in prison.

Interestingly, Li had become a Christian while imprisoned for seven years (due to writing poetry promoting freedom in 1998). Prior to that, he served five years for his participation in the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989. It is widely believed by international observers that the excessive sentence is meant to exact revenge for his aid in assisting the escape of famous exiled Chinese writer Liao Yiwu. Liao is the author of the book, “God is Red,” which was selected in 2011 as the best title by “Christianity Today.”

Last August, the prosecutor in the case wanted Li’s 17-year-old son, Jiang, who is studying in North America, brought back to China. Li’s business and assets were confiscated, preventing him from providing financial assistance to his son. Organizations such as VOM-Canada have helped to raise support for his son’s tuition and living expenses during 2012, so that Jiang would not need to return to China and thus face impending harm.

Please pray that the Lord would provide the means to appeal the court’s decision against Li, bringing him deserved vindication. In addition, pray that Jiang will be able to successfully complete his studies. During these very trying circumstances, may Li and his family experience the Lord’s mighty power not only to endure but also to rise triumphantly over them (Ephesians 6:10-19).

(Source, Voice of the Martyrs.)

You may also read in The New York Times and The Guardian about this unjust sentence, based on faked proofs, typical to Chinese communist ‘democracy’.

Chinese Christian Leader KH Ting Dead at 97

The Chinese former Anglican bishop KH Ting, who died on Nov. 22 in Nanjing, at age 97, illustrates perfectly the ambiguity we can find in the biographies of many Christian leaders who have lived under oppression, be that communist or otherwise. Let us hope he had time to repent of his compromises and find peace for his spirit, before appearing in front of the throne of Christ, the just judge of our souls.

Here are a few quotes from articles about his life, so that you can understand what I mean by the above.

Ting was an Anglican bishop in the 1940s and 1950s. He served as mission secretary for the Canadian Student Christian Movement and subsequently studied at New York’s Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary.

After moving back to China in the 1950s, Ting served as chairman of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China and president of the China Christian Council. He was vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from 1989–2008.

Chen Guangcheng is free. Thanks Be to God!

I was planning to ask you to pray for freedom for the Chinese Christian dissident Chen Guangcheng, who was under the protection of the American Enbassy in Beijing, because his life was under threat because he protested against forced abortions and sterilisation imposed on Chinese women by the Chinese communist regime.

I would out now that he is was free yesterday and is already free in the United States. Thanks be to God!