China - Persecutions.

December 16, 2013

Release partners are asking for urgent prayer for a church in China’s central Henan province which is suffering ongoing persecution.

It is now three weeks since Pastor Zhang Shaojie and 23 other Christians were detained at Nanle County Christian Church, an officially sanctioned congregation, on November 16. Church members were arrested when they protested over Pastor Zhang’s detention.

Fourteen days later, officials issued a notice stating that the church building was in danger of collapse and forbidding the congregation from using it. Respecting the order, the church gathered in a forest, at a site pre-approved with the Government, on December 1, only to be physically and verbally abused by officials. When they moved on to another site, they were told to return to their church – where about 100 people intervened to halt the service.

Last Friday, lawyers for the detainees went on hunger strike outside Nanle County Public Security Bureau after being refused access to their clients.

The detainees include the elderly and disabled and the parents of young children, and it is feared they are being held in inhumane conditions. The whereabouts of many are unknown.
(Sources: AP, China Aid)  Release Int.