Our friends at China Aid reported on this update a few days ago. If you are one of our prayer partners that is praying for China, this is a great request to add to your list.
HEBEI--In the afternoon of January 8, 2010, (Beijing Time) 30 leaders of the Chinese House Church Alliance (CHCA) were detained in Handan city, Hebei province. According to one detained pastor, who was able to use his cellphone briefly to notify an outside contact, a group of officers from the Handan City Public Security and Religious Affairs Bureaus broke into their leaders' meeting place where the 30 men and women were having a bible study, and forcefully took them to an unknown interrogation center within the city.
The 30 detained leaders include Pastor Li Cuixiang, from the Handan area, and Elder Wu Jianghe, from Beijing. The informing pastor reported that the PSB were threatening some of the detained pastors with 15 days of administrative detention. Immediately after relating the situation of the 30 pastors to the outside contact, the call abruptly cut off. ChinaAid and sources believe the pastor's cell phone was confiscated, as it could not be reached later on. President of the CHCA Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan calls upon the Handan government to release the church leaders immediately.
ChinaAid echoes Pastor Zhang's request, and urges the international community to voice their concerns for these persecuted house church leaders, and call for their immediate release.
To contact the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., send a message to:
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
3505 International Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 495-2000
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Email: [email protected]
NOTE: If you are a citizen of another country, please click here to find the contact information of the Chinese embassy in your own nationhttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490/.