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China

• Visiting Officials Launch Propaganda Attack

  While visiting American officials, a Chinese government delegation has "clarified" their case against Pastor Gong Shengliang. Using fact sheets and photos of those claimed to be victims of Gong and his followers, Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State Administration for Religious Affairs, laid out their case against Gong and the South China Church. According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency yesterday, Ye claimed that some who had refused to join Gong's church or who disagreed with him were beaten. Gong was also accused of raping some of his followers and is presently serving a life sentence for rape and assault. Ye claimed that Christian leaders in China denounce Gong as "Satan" and "devil." The delegation insists that Gong was sentenced to life imprisonment because of his criminal offenses, not normal religious activities.

  As reported in last week's Persecution & Prayer Alert, this Chinese delegation has been meeting with church and government leaders in Canada and USA to dialogue on religious and human rights in China.

  The Voice of the Martyrs has been covering the story of Pastor Gong and the South China Church (SCC) for over a year because of several arrests based on misrepresentation and false accusations against Gong and his followers. Responding to this latest round of attacks on the reputation of Pastor Gong and the SCC, Bob Fu, VOM's China analyst, denounced it as "slander" and offered the following rebuttal:

  - The SCC is a recognized evangelical group with a sound doctrinal footing. The are not an "evil cult." They have been under brutal persecution because they refuse to come under the control of the Religious Affairs Bureau of the Communist Party.

  - Though there have been some cases of emotional response by members against their persecutors, there has never been a case where Pastor Gong has encouraged any type of revenge against persecutors.

  - There is undeniable evidence, including affidavits, showing that the women who were supposedly raped by Pastor Gong confessed and signed under severe coercion and torture even to the point of death in the case of sister Zhongju Yu.

  - The delegation continued to talk about the SCC as a cult, even though the court in Hubei dropped the charge of "evil cult" against the SCC. To this day, thousands of members are still experiencing daily persecution.

  In a related story in the People's Daily Online on February 24, Cao Shengjie, a member of the delegation from China and president of the official China Christian Council, acknowledged the rapid growth of Christianity in China and stressed that there is religious freedom for all Chinese citizens. Speaking in the US, she told people to "go to China and see for yourself" to get a clear picture of the religious situation in China.

  Those who have gone to China in recent years have often come back with a significantly different story than presented by this delegation. Fu states that Cao has no credibility, since she is a direct tool of the Chinese Communist Party.

  Pray for Pastor Gong and others imprisoned for their faith in China. Pray that American and Canadian officials who have met with the delegation will see through their deception and will continue to push for true religious freedom in China.

• Religious Freedom Threatened in Hong Kong

  Since Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997, China has consistently violated the agreement signed by the Chinese and British governments regarding the governance and autonomy of the island. According to the agreement, Hong Kong was to retain its economic and social systems as a democratic society for 50 years. However, mainland China has since assumed more control of the government than what was agreed upon. An example of this is Article 23, introduced by the Hong Kong government on February 13 with intentions to make it law by July 2003.

  A particularly troubling element of Article 23 is that any Hong Kong group that receives funds, direction or leadership from a group that is already outlawed by Beijing would be likewise banned in Hong Kong. Also, appeals by organizations banned under the new law may potentially be heard only by closed tribunals, barring group members and their legal representatives from the proceedings.

  Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen has spoken out against the law, which could effectively remove the freedom to worship for Hong Kong's 347,000 Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church is banned in mainland China and was replaced by the Chinese government with a Catholic organization loyal to the state rather than the Vatican. While the law specifically targets organizations in Hong Kong that are controlled by illegal organizations based in mainland China, the Chinese government has frequently shown its resolve to remove any religious organization that is not subservient to the state.

  Pray for believers in Hong Kong, as they continue their ministry during this time of uncertainty. Pray that the Chinese government will bow to pressure and not enact this new law. Pray also for the many Chinese Christians already in prison, suffering for their faithfulness to their Lord.

• Human Rights Dialogue Between China and Canada

  The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is calling on Christians to pray for meetings taking place on February 15-21 between Canadian and Chinese officials. Ye Xiaowen, Director-General of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs, is visiting Canada as part of the Canada-China Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue. Mr. Ye and his delegation will be meeting with Canadian government and religious leaders to talk about church-state relations in Canada. And EFC delegate was scheduled to meet with the delegation last Monday.

  Pray that there will be a positive and truthful interaction between the Chinese officials and Christians during these meetings. Pray that these talks can help in easing the persecution against Christians in China. Pray that Canadian delegates will not be misled into believing the misinformation frequently propagated by the Chinese government.

• Top Secret Government Document

  Top Secret

  Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding
  Public security (2002) No. 193
  August 22, 2002

  Notice about the Distribution of the Work Plan on Terminating Illegal Christian Activities

  To Public Security Bureau and Sub-Bureau of All Counties, Cities and Districts,

  The Work Plan on Terminating Illegal Christian Activities is now distributed. You are all required to implement it and make careful arrangements as soon as possible. Your work shall be reported to the Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding.

  Top Secret

  Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding Work Plan on Terminating Illegal Christian Activities

  To embrace the victorious opening of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and created a sound and secure social environment, in light of the demand of the meeting on Christian issue in our city, a concerted citywide action will be taken, under the unified leadership of Party Committee and Government of our city, against illegal Christian activities from August 20 to October 20. To this end, the following work plan is made.

  Principles

  The action will be taken on the basis of the demand of the meeting on Christian issue, the religious policy of our Party and relevant law and regulations of the State. We need to rely upon the Party Committee, the grassroots organizations and people, bring the functional role of the public security authorities into full play, protect legal activities, terminate illegal ones, boycott overseas infiltration, fight crimes, help people differentiate legal religious activities from illegal ones, eliminate illegal religious activities, contain their spread, crack down on cultic activities being conducted in the name of Christianity, and safeguard the social stability of our city.

  Leadership

  A task force will be established under the Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding, with Li Yunlong, member of the Standing Committee of the Party, Director of the Public Security Bureau, as the leader, Liang Wenping, executive deputy director of the PSB, and Hu Liuhua, deputy director of the PSB, as deputies. The office will be in the Section of Religious Affairs. Tang Yongyi, section chief of religious affairs, will be in charge of the operation of this office.

  Task and Objective

  Let grassroots officials and people understand the difference between legal religious activities and illegal ones, and strengthen their ability to boycott voluntarily illegal Christian activities. Know clearly all illegal Christian activities, and bring their organizers and freelance missionaries to justice; ban all illegal Christian meeting places; make sure that the spread of illegal Christian activities in our city is effectively contained. Establish a secret force which has wide coverage, and can acquire deep-depth intelligence and information; make sure reliable information needed in discovering, fighting illegal Christian activities is available. Ban, according to the law, various cultic organizations operated in the name of Christianity. Make religious work a daily work of all grassroots police stations, set up detailed plan, and make sure religious activities develop normally and according to the law.

  Method and Procedure

  The action to terminate illegal Christian activities will fall into four stages, namely, publicity and education, investigation, termination and summarization:

  Stage of publicity and education (August 20-30)

  Respectively train and educate the police of all police stations, town and village leaders by various means, helping them differentiate legal religious activities from illegal ones, understand that freedom of religious faith does not necessarily mean freedom of religious activities, and thus laying solid foundation for termination of all illegal religious activities.

  Strengthen the publicity and education to believers and non-believers through bulletin, radio and TV stations of counties and towns, helping them realize the malign influence of illegal Christian activities, voluntarily report them and provide related clue, and thus totally eliminating all illegal Christian activities.

  Stage of investigation (August 31-September 20)

  Make a thorough investigation of local illegal Christian activities, areas and people involved, organizers, freelance missionaries and other relevant clues; sort all gathered information, set up full files; recognize influential people and illegal meeting places; be clear which are legal activities and which are not, which are religions and which are cults, which are organized by Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council and which are organized by freelance missionaries, which are overseas infiltration; and prepare to terminate them. On the basis of investigation, Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and district make their respective action plan.

  Stage of termination (September 21-October 10)

  Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts, according to their respective action plan, organize forces to close down all illegal Christian meeting places. Compulsory measures, such as subpoena, penalty, ordered confessions, detention, may be taken against those core members, stubborn members and those who provide places for illegal activities. Their instruments used for illegal missionary purpose and their illegal publicizing materials should be confiscated.

  In accordance with the State Council_s executive order No. 145 "Regulations on Religious Site" and provincial executive order No. 83 "Regulations on Religious Site and Religious Personnel", all sites not approved by the government are treated as illegal. No activity can be conducted on those sites. Believers should be educated to voluntarily obey regulations of the government and go to government-approved sites for Christian activities. Otherwise, they will be severely punished according to Public Security Regulations.

  Ban illegal activities of freelance missionaries. Those who refuse to refrain from those activities should be severely punished; Those who commit crimes in the name of religion should be punished by Public Security Bureau.

  Various cultic activities in the name of Christianity should be severely cracked down, on the principle of "nipping them in the bud".

  In terminating illegal Christian activities, secret forces should be established on the principle of "necessity" and "probability". Those forces should be on control and able to obtain timely information.

  Stage of summarization (October 11-20)

  The Task Force will send supervisors to Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts to make sure that all necessary work has been done, and to summarize the work.

  Public Security Bureau should serve as brainman and play leading role in terminating illegal Christian activities. Department of Domestic Security of Public Security Bureau should play functional roles of surveillance, intelligence and protection, putting forward proposals and suggestions, being brainman to the Party Committee and the Government, and getting support from the Party Committee and the Government.

  Meanwhile, they should cooperate and coordinate with other departments. All grassroots police stations should strengthen their daily management of Christian affairs, be clear in their mind about illegal activities, set up special files, and nip all kinds of illegal missionaries, illegal religious activities and cultic activities in the bud, making sure they can not spread and stage a comeback. Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding will work out details, by which the work of Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts will be checked. Right after this action, Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts should make earnest summarization, hammer out measures to strengthen constant management, and submit work report. Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding will give award on the basis of performance and achievement and will criticize those whose have serious malpractice. Those whose work is not qualified should continue their work until they are qualified.

  Requirements

  Improve the awareness of the importance of terminating illegal Christian activities. Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts should fully recognize the grave harm of current illegal Christian activities, develop the working style of tirelessness, and accomplish the task of terminating illegal Christian activities on the standpoint of protecting grassroots regime and safeguarding social and political stability.

  Reinforce the leadership. Public Security Bureau of all counties, cities and districts should strengthen the leadership over terminating illegal Christian activities, and take responsibilities. Chiefs should bear overall responsibility and be major responsible persons. Deputies in charge should be the direct responsible persons. Various departments should coordinate with each other. The political department should take the lead, and other departments take their respective responsibilities. Joint efforts should be made. Careful and attentive plan should be worked out and put into practice.

  Strictly implement the policy. Attention should be paid to the limitation of the policy. Relevant policies and laws should be strictly abided by. Normal Christian activities should be differentiated from illegal ones. Participants of illegal activities should be differentiated from the organizers. Cracking down should be confined to a small group of people. For majority of people, education serves as the main ways to stop them from engaging in illegal activities. It should be avoid to give excuses to some people who might use them for slandering.

  Pay careful attention to the social trend, preventing few people from fanning and making troubles. Once happening, troubles should be dealt with in time under the leadership of local party committee and government. Relevant information should be reported. Strengthen intelligence work. All counties, cities and districts should, by stage, report their action plan, work schedule and their progress on terminating illegal Christian activities. Emergency should be reported immediately.

  Key words: Christian, Illegal, Plan, Notice
  Office of the Public Security Bureau of the City of Baoding
  Printed on August 22, 2002
  (Total number of copies: 30)

• Government Plan Against Christians Revealed

  A top-secret government document obtained by The Voice of the Martyrs gives proof of a concerted effort by the Chinese government against unregistered Christian churches. The document is a directive from the Public Security Bureau of Baoding to PSB bureaus throughout Hebei Province with a goal to "terminate illegal Christian activities."

  The document outlined a four-part plan from August 20 to October 20, 2002, leading up to the meeting of the National Congress of the Communist Party. The first step was publicity and education, letting authorities know what are "illegal Christian activities" as well as educating the public on the problem. The next step was investigation, infiltrating the illegal Christian organizations, gaining the evidence needed as they "prepare to terminate them." For the third stage of termination, the document outlines methods to be used. "Compulsory measures, such as subpoena, penalty, ordered confessions, detention, may be taken against those core members, stubborn members and those who provide places for illegal activities. Their instruments used for illegal missionary purpose and their illegal publicizing materials should be confiscated." The emphasis was to be placed on small groups and the leadership of churches rather than on large groups to prevent trouble for the authorities. In the final stage of "summarization," the PSB referred to rewards "on the basis of performance and achievement" and criticism for those who do not perform adequately.

  While not denying that they have been taking action against what they refer to as illegal religious groups, the Chinese government has been trying to be seen as a tolerant society to help their international trade. Documents such as this clearly show the true face of the Chinese government. For the full English translation of the document, click here.

  Please pray for believers in China facing these kinds of pressures on a regular basis. Pray that the leaders will stand firm in spite of the persecution. Pray for those presently in prison for their faith. You are also encouraged to contact your government representatives, calling on them to take action. Contact information is available at www.vomcanada.com/links.htm.

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in China,click here.

• House Church Leader Sentenced to Labour Camp

  The Voice of the Martyrs has learned that a well-known evangelical Chinese house church leader Xu Guoxing (Philip Xu) has been recently sentenced to 18 months of "re-education through labour" after his arrest on December 8 for leading a house church service.

  Xu has previously served six years in a labour camp and was last released in July 2000. He is reported to be quite frail, so there are concerns for his health. Pray for strength for Pastor Xu. Pray for strength and protection for the millions of Christians worshipping illegally in house churches throughout China. 

  For more information on the persecution in China, visit theChina Country Report.

• Government Tries to Force Church Leadership Change

  The Voice of the Martyrs has received a report from China that a pastor was arrested when he refused to give up leadership of the church on orders from the government. According to the report received in the last week, Pastor Bian is the only pastor of the official church in Datong, Shanxi Province. He received notification on December 24 from the Religious Affairs Bureau that all Christians in his church had requested a change in leadership. According to a member of his congregation, who cannot be identified for security reasons, only 3-4 of the 4000 members wanted him removed. He was arrested on December 26 and was only released when the church threatened to go to the Datong government.

  The church members are asking for your urgent prayers, as the Religious Affairs Bureau continues to investigate, looking for grounds to remove him from leadership.

  For more information on the persecution in China, visit theChina Country Report.

• Christian Family Beaten and Left in the Cold

  At about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 5, 2003, approximately 10 unidentified men burst into the home of Brother Hua Huiqi and his wife, Ju Mei in Beijing. Forcing all of the members of the household, including Hua's elderly parents, to lay on the floor, the attackers savagely beat the family, breaking one of the legs of Hua's 80-year-old father. They then confiscated all of the home's portable heaters, leaving the family to suffer from the cold of winter. It is believed that the intruders were either sent by the police or could even have been plain-clothes policemen. When Hua went to the police on Monday to request the return of the heaters, he was detained for several hours during which time he was beaten again. He did not receive the heaters. In a conversation with Ju Mei on Monday night, she told The Voice of the Martyrs that it was presently minus 14 degrees Celsius in Beijing.

  The attack followed a peaceful protest by the family in the early hours of January 4, as they and other members of their neighbourhood objected to the cutting off of the electricity and water to their homes. Chinese authorities had taken this action when they were unable to obtain the names of various house church members from Hua when they learned that he had been responsible for collecting approximately 10,000 pieces of used clothing for distribution among poorer church members in the rural countryside.

  Hua Huiqi is an active member of the house church movement in Beijing. His wife, Ju Mei was a fulltime evangelist before her marriage to Hua. They have one young daughter. Hua has been arrested and beaten several times because of his activities with the house church in China. They share their home with Hua's parents who are also Christians. Hua believes that these tactics are part of a campaign to drive him and his family out of their home into the streets, where they will be more susceptible to arrest and detention for vagrancy. Bob Fu, China analyst for The Voice of the Martyrs and a personal friend of this couple says, "It is such a tragedy that this family who only wanted to help families in need should now find themselves left beaten, cold, and potentially homeless in the winter weather. As we begin this New Year, we need to remember how much more we need to pray for the thousands of persecuted church brothers and sisters in China like the Hua family."

  The Voice of the Martyrs urges Christians from around the world to remember Hua and his family in your prayers. Pray that God will protect and sustain them as they suffer the physical effects of the beating and the cold winter weather. Pray that they would know the reality of God's presence in the midst of affliction and fear. Pray that the church will be able to help them without interference from government authorities. Pray that God would soften the hearts of the Beijing authorities and lead them to repentance and even faith in Christ. Pray that Hua and his family will provide a positive and effective witness to Christ in their response to this situation.

  For more information on the persecution in China, visit theChina Country Report.