Filed under: Burma/Myanmar | Tags: autonomy, burma, burmese, christian, christians, government, karen, myanmar, oppression, persecuted, persecution, soldiers, tribe
In Burma there is a tribe called the Karen Tribe. They are largely a Christian tribe. And they are being chased and persecuted by the Burmese government. They have been aiming for autonomy for years, and have been brutally hunted, murdered, and oppressed. Whole villages are being burned to the ground, and the Karen people are fleeing for their lives.
check out these links to articles about the Karen tribe
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/08/21/christian-karen-under-fire-in
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/world/asia/21myanmar.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
Filed under: China | Tags: beijing, China, Christ, christianity, christians, church, communist, God, gospel, government, Jesus, pastors, prison, registered, religion, three self, underground
This is part of ChinaAid’s “expert commentary” section. A very good speech by Yu JianRong at Peking University on December 11, 2008. He performed a year-long study and analysis on China’s house churches.
Yu goes into great detail about what he observed in Chinese house churches throughout many provinces in China. I’d recommend reading it.
To ensure hope for the persecuted church, go to www.alpharelief.org
Filed under: China | Tags: China, christianity, christians, church, communist, God, gospel, human rights, Jesus, police, prison, registered, religion, three self, underground, United States
Check this link out.
In ShanXi Province there is a Christian church which is being persecuted. The authorities are putting people in handcuffs and humiliating them on TV for being Christians.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Bill Clinton, euna lee, Kim Jong Il, laura ling, North Korea
Today Laura Ling and Euna Lee were pardoned by Kim Jong Il. Bill Clinton was sent to negotiate the release of the two women.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: BBC, Bill Clinton, euna lee, journalist, Kim Jong Il, laura ling, Madeleine Albright, missile, North Korea, nuclear, president, United States
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8182716.stm
Bill Clinton is reported to have met with Kim Jong Il recently in an unannounced trip to North Korea. He was involved in the freeze on nuclear activity during his Presidency, so maybe he still has influence now? Who knows. Maybe he is there for the two journalists? Either way, he is the highest profile American to visit since Madeleine Albright in 2000.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: government, human rights, Kim Jong Il, missile, money, North Korea, nuclear, United States
North Korea is being more provoking and belligerent than ever recently. They’ve threatened:
“If the US and its followers infringe upon our republic’s sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a one hundred or one thousandfold retaliation with [a] merciless military strike,”
Pretty intense! Their current missiles have the theoretical capability of reaching Alaska. According to an interview in the article below, it would be a couple of years before North Korea could be a real threat to the West Coast of America.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: dictator, father, God, intelligence, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, pray, son, United States
United States Intelligence has confirmed that Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il’s third son, will succeed Kim Jong Il as dictator of North Korea. It remains to be seen how similar to his father Kim Jong Un will prove to be. Remember to pray for this man, as he will soon inherit the most volatile state in the world. If he is anything like his father, then the future is anyone’s guess. So let’s pray that God softens his heart before he even begins the process of taking over.
Filed under: China | Tags: beijing, China, China Aid, christianity, christians, church, communist, Fengtai, freedom, gospel, Hua HuiQi, human rights, Jesus, pastors, police, prayer, prison, registered, religion, Shanxi, Taiyuan, torture, underground, Voice of the Martyrs, VOM
Voice of the Martyrs put out this on their blog a couple of days ago.
This afternoon, we received a report from our partners at Christian Aid Association telling us how Pastor Hua Huiqi had been beaten and detained by Chinese police on June 4. The following is how Pastor Hua described his experience:
My name is Hua Huiqi. Before June 4 of this year, I went to a church outside Beijing and shared the words of God with some brothers and sisters. On the morning of June 5 when I was transferring trains at Taiyuan Railroad Station, I was arrested by the police officers from Shanxi and Fengtai, Beijing who had been laying in ambush there for a long time. I was taken to the hotel where they were staying. A team leader named Dong from Fengtai District Domestic Security Protection Squad of Beijing roughed me up and slapped me in the face over 10 times. My clothes were ripped open and they beat me for nearly half an hour.
In the meantime, they pinched me on the neck and said: “I’m going to strangle you and I’d like to see whether you can still preach the Gospel. If you go outside the town again, I’ll break your legs.” He also threatened me: “I’m beating you because God tells me to do so. I’ll get all the materials ready in three months and arrest both you and your wife for sentencing.”
I asked him: “What law did we break?”
He said: “Just because you believe in Jesus. Our Domestic Security Protection Squad is specially set up here to suppress you Jesus believers. We don’t allow you to stir up troubles and establish contacts everywhere. You must apply at our Domestic Security Protection Squad when you want to go out. We don’t allow you to get out of our sight. Otherwise, whenever you go out, we’ll beat you once and break your legs.”
On that same afternoon, over 10 police officers escorted me back to Beijing from Taiyuan and detained me in a mountain where they kept guard on me day and night. Later, with prayers from brothers and sisters and appeals by ChinaAid, they escorted me back home on the evening of June 7 and I’m still not free at this moment. I hope brothers and sisters the world over can pray for the Chinese police and beg God to show His grace and let them repent and believe in Jesus. I also hope they pray that we may freely preach Gospel and live a free life.
Member in Christ:
Hua Huiqi
Please uphold Pastor Hua in your prayers as he is receiving treatment at home.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Concentration Camp, English, espionage, euna lee, government, human rights, hunger, Kim Jong Il, labor, laura ling, missile, North Korea, nuclear, police, prison, starvation, torture, treatment, trial, TV
Some speculators are claiming that Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists captured by North Korean guards back in March, and who recently went on trial for espionage, will not actually go to a typical “hard labor camp”. Their sentence, handed out early this week, put a 12-year incarceration in front of their eyes. As scary and ominous as that may sound, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk of them actually not having to serve the full sentence, or the sentence as we imagine it. As these girls are journalists, North Korea might have several options. First, they might consider treating them well, knowing that upon any release in the future, they will tell their story to the world. That, of course, will only be the case if they are ever released. This Asia Times article claims that they might even be sent to a state guest house where their “hard labor” will consist of using their training and skills to help the North Korean government, TV stations, or English training.
So who really knows? Time will tell. And time will also tell how far America is willing to go in protecting these girls. I hate to imagine the day when a decision must be made as we’re staring at a scale with two American girls on one side, and a potential global nuclear threat on the other. At the moment it seems all the United States is trying to do is keep these two issues as separate as possible.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: China, emergency, family, freedom, fund, government, hunger, medicine, North Korea, prison, rescue, torture, visa
Alpha Relief has just set up an “Emergency Rescue Fund”. This is their description of what it is:
Recently we were in China and heard about two teenage brothers who urgently needed to renew their Chinese visas. They have a Chinese father and North Korean mother. Because their dad is Chinese, China will give them a visa that lets them legally stay in China. But the problem is that the boys don’t have the money to pay for the visas. If they’re forced to leave China and go to North Korea, as believers they are at great risk. Their mother is in prison in North Korea because the government found out she is a Christian. So obviously she can’t help pay for her boys’ visas. Right now she’s suffering in North Korea, hungry, malnourished, and of course dealing with horrific prison conditions. She needs medicine, food and her freedom.
This Emergency Rescue Fund will help in situations like this. Our reaction time in stories like this is extremely important. So with the ERF we will be able to immediately impact the lives of people like this family split up because of persecution.
If you would like to get involved with how Alpha Relief is helping the persecuted church in North Korea, go to their Emergency Rescue Fund.
