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The Church in The World
Top house church leader arrested in China
BARTLESVILLE, Okla., December 10 (VOM News)One of the most
prominent Chinese House Church leaders, Pastor Zhang Rongliang,
was arrested on December 1, 2004.
According to VOM sources, 53-year-old Pastor Zhang was arrested
in a rented apartment at Xuzhai village, Zhengzhou city, Henan
province at about 1 p.m. One eyewitness said a Volkswagen car
which apparently belongs to the Ministry of State Security had
been parked near that apartment before Zhang's arrest. The
license plate is given as Yu-A (illegible number) 0191.
Zhang's wife and children were not at home when the arrest
occurred; they were able to escape and are now in hiding. The
apartment was searched and all Pastor Zhang's Christian DVDs,
materials and photos revealing relationships with foreigners and
foreign agencies were confiscated. According to reliable sources,
on the evening of December 1, Xuzhai village was surrounded by
police and every house was searched. It is believed that pastor
Zhang's wife and children were the targets of the search.
Mr. Gao Shunping, who helped pastor Zhang get an ID so that he
could travel, also disappeared. At least three house churches at
Fangcheng area were raided last week after Zhang's arrest,
including the house of Ms. Xiao Min's parents. Xiao Min has been
sought by the authorities because of her prolific writing of
Chinese worship songs known as "Canaan Hymns."
There has been no communication with Pastor Zhang since his
arrest, but it is believed that he is in custody in the Zheng
Zhou area of Henan Province. Zhang is the leader of the Fangcheng
Mother Church, Henan and the leader of the China
for Christ Church, which is one of the largest house church
networks in China, estimated to have more than 10 million
members. He has been well known by the international community as
one of the house church patriarchs. He is a coauthor of the House
Churches of China's Confession of Faith and Declaration, which
was published in 1999. He has been featured in a number of
international articles and books, including "Jesus in
Beijing" (2003) by former TIME journalist David Aikman,
Newsweek (12th May 2004), TIME magazine, Charisma and
Christianity Today.
Pastor Zhang has already spent twelve years in prison for his
faith during five separate detentions since his secret baptism in
1969. He experienced harsh torture, including electric shocks,
during his prison terms.
His arrest comes in the midst of a serious crackdown on China's
house churches. In addition to a generally worsening situation
and increased arrests, it is reported that there is now a
disinformation campaign, similar to that used against the Falun
Gong before the major crackdown against them. In recent weeks,
the Chinese government has launched an international media
propaganda campaign. It was reflected from articles both in an
overseas pro-China website called DUOWEI news and the New York
Times. The articles portrayed house churches as secret religious
fanatics who even commit murder in the fight for new membership.
It is believed that the Chinese government purposely provided
misleading and untrue information to these news outlets by
linking the house church with a criminal group disguised as
religion called Eastern Lightning.
VOM sources fear that Zhang could be in for harsh treatment by
police. As the leader of a large house-church network, he could
be classified as an evil cult leader. Police are also seeking
Zhang's two sons, and could put pressure on him to give
information about them and about the activities of other church
leaders.
"Christians in China love their country; they pray for their
government leaders," said Nettleton. "They simply ask
for the right to worship God as they see fit. We urge Christians
around the world to pray for Pastor Zhang and other Christians in
China, and to protest to the Chinese government." Tom
Nettleton, Voice of the Martyrs (www.
persecution.com).
Dutse, Nigeria, November 30 (Compass) Police authorities
have arrested 10 Muslim militants in Dutse, the capital of the
state of Jigawa in northern Nigeria, for perpetrating an attack
on a team of Christian evangelists on Tuesday, November 23. The
incident reportedly caused two deaths and left at least 20 people
with injuries.
According to police, the militants' aggressive action against the
New Life For All gospel team provoked a violent clash with local
Christians. Other Muslims reportedly joined in the fray, siding
with the Christians against the militant group.
Police prosecution officer Yerima Inuwa told a Dutse magistrate
court on Thursday, November 25, that the Muslim militants have
been charged with breaching public peace under sections 113 and
248 of the penal code.
According to the police officer, the 10 heavily armed militants
attacked the Christian evangelistic team and members of the
public during an open air preaching event. Fighting then
apparently broke out between the militants and moderate Muslim
bystanders who voiced their disapproval of the militants' attack
on the Christians and the fundamentalist beliefs that provoked
it.
TSS
January
/ February 2005 The Sabbath Sentinel
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