Chinese Authorities Jail Christian Pastor and Family
by Allie Martin
November 23, 2004
(AgapePress) - A ministry to the persecuted church is watching a prominent Beijing house church leader's case with concern, noting that the Chinese Christian leader faces a harsh sentence if convicted in an upcoming trial. According to the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), pastor Cai Zhuohua, a leading minister to six house churches in Beijing, will soon be formally tried in a government court. In September, the pastor was kidnapped by three plain-clothes officers as he returned home after a Bible study session.
VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton says many believe the incident is related to a broad national campaign -- a program of government intimidation and persecution directed against Christians -- that started this past summer. "It does seem to be a part of a widespread crackdown on house churches in China," he says.
Nettleton says in past couple of months VOM has heard "some promising things" from the Communist Chinese government. "They've talked about more religious freedom," he says, "and they've talked about loosening government controls, but with their other hand they're taking people like Pastor Cai into custody."
The Chinese minister's wife and two other relatives have also been arrested, and the VOM spokesman says the ministry's contacts are saying that the detainees will probably face a fraud or tax evasion charge of some kind. "It won't be a religious freedom charge," he explains, or at least, that will not be the official story.
However, Nettleton notes that even the official media have picked up on the religious implications of the case. He says an official of the People's Republic of China, in a newspaper controlled by the Chinese government, called this "the most serious case of overseas religious infiltration" since the nation was founded. "So clearly," he points out, "somebody thinks it's a religion case, even though when the trial happens they probably will not talk about religion."
Obviously the Communist authorities are considering convicting Pastor Cai, his wife, and the other relatives on criminal charges instead of the illegal religion charges, Nettleton says. He is urging American believers to pray for the prisoners of faith and also to send letters of concern to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.
