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: 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: Concentration Camp, David Hawk, detention center, execution, freedom, Gulag, handcuffs, human rights, hunger, North Korea, police, prison, rations, starvation, torture
In order to further describe the labor/re-education camps in North Korea, I’ve taken some excerpts from “The Hidden Gulag” by David Hawk of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. You can find this report online at their website.
“There were no public executions during this time at Kwan-li-soNo. 14, but many prisoners died of malnutrition and disease, some twenty-five were executed by guards, and even more died from mining accidents. In one execution, a KIM Chul Min was executed for collecting, without authorization, ripe chestnuts that had fallen to the ground from a tree at the mine entrance. Another hunger-crazed prisoner, KAL Li Yong, died after having his mouth smashed by a feces-covered stick for having stolen a leather whip, soaked it in water, and then ate the softened leather. Kwan-li-so No. 14 Kaechon”
“Rations were meager: only some 450 grams (16 ounces) per day of rice mixed with beans. Many prisoners died in the winter from malnutrition, scabies and other skin diseases, and paratyphoid. Prisoners were beaten by guards. Other infractions and mistakes resulted in longer prison sentences. Those who attempted and failed to escape, or who initially succeeded in escaping but were caught, were brought back for public execution, after which their corpses would be displayed for a day.”
“The torture at Moonsu was particularly severe. Accused of deliberately infiltrating the security service, Kim was forced to kneel for long periods with a wooden bar placed behind and between his knees and calves. He was suspended by his handcuffed wrists from his prison-cell bars, and he was submerged up to his waist for long periods in tanks filled with cold water.”
“CHOI Yong Hwa assisted in the delivery of babies, three of whom were promptly killed, at the Sinuiju do-jip-kyul-so(provincial detention center) in mid-2000.
■ Former Detainee #8 witnessed six forced abortions at Chongjin do-jip-kyul-soin mid-2000.
■ Former Detainee #9 witnessed ten forced abortions at Onsong ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae(labor-training camp) in mid-2000.
■ YOU Chun Sik reported that four pregnant women at the bo-wi-bu (National Security Agency) police station in Sinuiju were subjected to forced abortions in mid-2000.
■ Former Detainee #21 reported two baby killings at the Onsong In-min-bo-an-seong(People’s Safety Agency) police station in late 1999.
■ Former Detainee #24 helped deliver seven babies who were killed at the Backto-ri, South Sinuiju In-min-bo-an-seongpolice detention center in January 2000.
■ Former Detainee #25 witnessed four babies killed at Nongpo In-min-bo-an-seong police detention center in Chongjin in late 1999, and another six pregnant women subjected to forced abortion.
■ Former Detainee #26 witnessed three forced abortions and seven babies killed at the Nongpo jip-kyul-so(detention center), Chongjin City, in May 2000.”
Filed under: China | Tags: arrested, China, christianity, christians, church, human rights, money, pastors, police, prison, PSB, raid, religion, underground
Via China Aid (website), this morning I heard about 18 Christians who were arrested in the province of Henan, China. Apparently they were having a communion service at a house church, when the PSB (China’s police) conducted a raid of the meeting. The Christians and leaders were taken down to the local police station and fined 1000yuan each. That is only $150. But in China, that is one month’s salary for your average car mechanic or hotel receptionist. It is two months salary for your average baker. (world salaries)
Also, we have to remember. For a lot of underground church pastors, their only job is being a pastor. They make little to no money, because of the demand for pastors. I was in China a few years ago listening to an underground pastor talk about his experience. He said:
“6 days a week we have church in this apartment. sometimes up to 10 or 11 services per day. all different congregations.”
Of course, apartments only hold 10-30 people sometimes, but…doing the math that could be hundreds of people coming through there per day! Whether or not this is representative of China as a whole when it comes to the underground church, I don’t know. But for this pastor…leading his congregation(s!) was more than a full time job. So for a pastor to be fined $150 can be devastating. Hopefully church members and friends come together at that point and help out.
The worst part is that 16 of these Christians and pastors are still imprisoned. With China’s human rights laws, it is impossible to know how they are being treated. Please pray for them and their families.
