A house church in China's Taiyuan city was raided by forty government officials who arrested the pastor and five female members of the congregation at the same time, Christian Headlines reported Monday. While the five women were released some hours after the raid, Pastor An Yankui, whose home the church meets in, was detained for 15 days.
...continue reading this storyChina faces international pressure for sentencing an independent Christian journalist to four-year imprisonment over her coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city. Zhang Zhan, 37, reportedly saw it as "God's will' to be among the few people whose firsthand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted a more gloomy picture of the COVID-19 epicenter than the official narrative.
...continue reading this storyA prominent Catholic bishop in Nigeria, kidnapped on December 27, has been released unharmed in an “answer to prayers,” his church said Saturday.
...continue reading this storyChinese government authorities increased their persecution of Christians this Christmas season by banning numerous worship services and carol events, the Christian Post reports.
...continue reading this storyAuthorities in China's Wenzhou City are forcing all school teachers, including Christians, to sign a document forbidding them to profess their faith or any other religious beliefs, rights activists and other sources confirmed.
...continue reading this storyChinese Pastor John Cao, who serves a seven-year jail term in China, has written a poetry book urging believers to realize that Jesus Christ will never forsake them. Christ, he adds, gives treasures nobody can take away.
...continue reading this storyChina is prosecuting Christian businessmen for selling audio versions of the Bible in a government effort to “eradicate pornography and illegal publications,” rights groups confirmed.
...continue reading this storyThe United States added Nigeria to a blacklist of countries that violate religious liberties Monday, DW reports. Joining Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and China, Nigeria is now listed as a country “of concern” “under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."
...continue reading this storyThe owner of a company that produces audio Bible players in China’s Guangdong province is due to appear in court on December 7 to answer charges of conducting “illegal business operations,” Morning Star News reports. Lai Jinqiang, owner of Shenzhen Cedar Electronics, faces trial after being arrested together with his six employees on July 22 last year.
...continue reading this storyChinese security forces harass Christians of an independent church in western China because they still worship after their building was destroyed, and the pastor jailed, friends say.
...continue reading this story