House Church Pastor In China Detained
Marshall Ramsey, II - Worthy News US Correspondent
SUQIAN CITY, Jiangsu, China (Worthy News) - Worthy News has just learned of the recent arrest of another house church leader in China. Pastor Shi Enhao, deputy chairman of the Chinese House Church Alliance, has been sentenced to two years of "re-education through labor," an extra-judicial punishment handed out by police that requires no trial or conviction of a crime. It is often used for those who have committed minor criminal offenses or for dissidents and adherents of non-government sanctioned religious groups, such as house church Christians and Falun Gong practitioners.
Pastor Shi was detained May 31, 2011 by police in Suqian city, in coastal Jiangsu province, and held for 12 days. On June 21, he was criminally detained by Suqian Public Security Bureau. Those familiar with this practice say it is the first step in a legal process that almost inevitably leads to a prison sentence.
THE CHARGES
Pastor Shi is formally charged with "illegal meetings and illegal organizing of venues for religious meetings." This charge stems from the fact that Pastor Shi's large house church of several thousand members meets in various different sites around the city.
What makes for even greater significance of Shi's sentencing on this charge has to do with the events surrounding the Shouwang Church in Beijing, and its controversial decision in April to meet outdoors after being evicted once again from property it lawfully had leased from the Chinese government.
Critics of Shouwang's decision pointed out that when other house churches have grown too large to meet in one place without making local officials nervous, most have avoided clashes with the authorities by breaking into smaller groups which meet in different locations. The fact that Pastor Shi was charged and sentenced despite using this precaution demonstrates that this strategy does not guarantee that authoritites will be appeased.
Suqian city police's Domestic Security Protection Department has ordered Pastor Shi's church to stop meeting and confiscated the congregation's car, musical instruments, and choir robes, as well as church donations totalling 140,000 yuan, which amounts to $21,712.50 US.
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION A FAMILY AFFAIR
Pastor Shi is not the only person in his family to have suffered persecution at the hands of police for the cause of Jesus Christ. Pastor Shi's daughters and their husbands have also beeen threatened. Shi Yongyang, Pastor Shi's son, has been to the police station and signed the sentencing paperwork under police pressure, but they have refused to give him a copy of the signed documents.
Pastor Shi and his wife, Zhu Guangyun, are both 55 years old. His mother, Liu Guanglan, age 86, requires round-the-clock care, which is provided by Pastor Shi's wife. Previously mentioned Shi Yongyang, Pastor Shi's son, and his wife are both in full-time ministry. Four generations of Shi Enhao's family have served the church.
ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu expressed shock at the news and strongly condemned the authorities in Jiangsu's Suqian city for sentencing Pastor Shi. He also called on the church and the international community to express their concern for him and to come to Pastor Shi's aid.
Showing posts with label Shouwang church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shouwang church. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Chinese Christians arrested during Easter raid
Chinese Christians arrested during Easter raid
Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News US Correspondent
Beijing, China - On what is perhaps the holiest day of the Christian faith, Easter Sunday, dozens of Chinese Christians were arrested when they tried to hold worship services without government approval.
Members of the Shouwang, or 'watchtower', church were arrested Sunday after being told that they would be unable to use their church building. As many as 20 to 30 followers were taken into custody, said Jin Tianming, pastor of the congregation.
Pastor Tianming, himself under house arrest for conducting worship services without Chinese government sanction, wrote in a letter that he believes Satan, also called Lucifer, and the Devil, is using the Chinese government to try to destroy God's church.
"The devil Satan has taken advantage of the authority God has granted to the national government and is seeking to destroy God's church. His devil's claws have finally been revealed. Satan get thee behind me!"
Worshippers seized during the raid were taken away in buses, some defiantly signing hymns. Church leaders called for the congregation to worship outside the building even if it meant arrest and prosecution.
GOVERNMENT REGISTRY REQUIRED
Christians in China are free to worship the Lord Jesus Christ if they register with state-approved churches, but many Christians refuse to do this, believing it means the government gets to control what is said behind the pulpit.
The number of underground Christians in China is estimated at 40,000,000, with some estimates going as high as 80,000,000.
Up to 500 members of the Protestant house church movement have been detained in recent weeks. The arrests are being billed as a continuation of the government's attempts to repress dissention.
In China, any opinion that differs from the government is seen as a sign of rebellion. A similar political climate exists within the United States: Anyone who disagrees with President Obama's policies is seen as racist.
Shouwang church has grown to 1,500 members since being founded in 1993. They claim to have been blocked from taking possession of a building they purchased in 2009 for a price of 2.5
million British pounds.
"The Chinese government are playing a very dangerous game," said Mark Shan, a spokesman for ChinaAid, a Christian rights group based in the US. "They are pushing the church into a corner and other Christians, when they see how Shouwang have been treated, may react in the same defiant way." Activists have stated that the protests that China is seeking to keep quiet may actually strengthen other members of the underground church movement.
(www.telegraph.co.uk contributed to this article)
Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News US Correspondent
Beijing, China - On what is perhaps the holiest day of the Christian faith, Easter Sunday, dozens of Chinese Christians were arrested when they tried to hold worship services without government approval.
Members of the Shouwang, or 'watchtower', church were arrested Sunday after being told that they would be unable to use their church building. As many as 20 to 30 followers were taken into custody, said Jin Tianming, pastor of the congregation.
Pastor Tianming, himself under house arrest for conducting worship services without Chinese government sanction, wrote in a letter that he believes Satan, also called Lucifer, and the Devil, is using the Chinese government to try to destroy God's church.
"The devil Satan has taken advantage of the authority God has granted to the national government and is seeking to destroy God's church. His devil's claws have finally been revealed. Satan get thee behind me!"
Worshippers seized during the raid were taken away in buses, some defiantly signing hymns. Church leaders called for the congregation to worship outside the building even if it meant arrest and prosecution.
GOVERNMENT REGISTRY REQUIRED
Christians in China are free to worship the Lord Jesus Christ if they register with state-approved churches, but many Christians refuse to do this, believing it means the government gets to control what is said behind the pulpit.
The number of underground Christians in China is estimated at 40,000,000, with some estimates going as high as 80,000,000.
Up to 500 members of the Protestant house church movement have been detained in recent weeks. The arrests are being billed as a continuation of the government's attempts to repress dissention.
In China, any opinion that differs from the government is seen as a sign of rebellion. A similar political climate exists within the United States: Anyone who disagrees with President Obama's policies is seen as racist.
Shouwang church has grown to 1,500 members since being founded in 1993. They claim to have been blocked from taking possession of a building they purchased in 2009 for a price of 2.5
million British pounds.
"The Chinese government are playing a very dangerous game," said Mark Shan, a spokesman for ChinaAid, a Christian rights group based in the US. "They are pushing the church into a corner and other Christians, when they see how Shouwang have been treated, may react in the same defiant way." Activists have stated that the protests that China is seeking to keep quiet may actually strengthen other members of the underground church movement.
(www.telegraph.co.uk contributed to this article)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)