Tag: China

Number of North Koreans fleeing to South Korea drops by 13%

September 19, 2017 North Korea China, North Korea, Refugees, South Korea, Thailand

Barbed wire along the Yalu river which marks the border between China and North Korea. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The number of North Koreans who escaped to South Korea in the first half of this year dropped by 13 per cent compared to the same period last year, a government report shows. The report from South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said 780 North Koreans escaped between January and July . . . Read More

Escaping North Korea

September 13, 2017 North Korea China, North Korea, South Korea, Thailand

A vast network of brokers help North Koreans escape Kim Jong-un’s regime through a well-oiled system. Some of their remarkable stories were revealed to The Washington Post during its recent visit to a Thai detention centre. The 11 interviewed were recovering from the last leg of their journey, which started . . . Read More

Chinese bishop who disappeared in April resurfaces in Beijing hospital

September 12, 2017 China China, Peter Shao Zhumin, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

A church building in Wenzhou carrying a cross on top. Churches in Zeijang province have been under pressure to remove their crosses in recent years.

The Chinese Bishop of Wenzhou, Peter Shao Zhumin, has resurfaced in a Beijing hospital reportedly to undergo ear surgery, after he was taken away from his diocese by security officials in April. According to the Catholic news site UCAN the bishop re-appeared via the social media app WeChat, through which . . . Read More

China passes new religious regulations ‘to prevent extremism’

September 8, 2017 China Children, China, Communism, Islamic extremism, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping

China has passed a new set of rules regulating religious affairs, a year after the proposed amendments were released to the public for the first time. The new rules, announced yesterday, show no significant alterations to last year’s proposals, though there is noticeably less detail given regarding those who will be . . . Read More

China bans children – and their teachers – from churches

September 8, 2017 China Children, China, Communism, Fujian, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

Unofficial estimates say that there are close to 100 million Christians in China, more than are members of its Communist Party, due to hold its 19th five-yearly National Congress in mid-October. But in several provinces, children were banned from attending Christian camps over the summer holidays while notices were issued . . . Read More

As China goes global, its Christian missionaries go too

September 4, 2017 Balochistan, China, Islamic State, Lee Zingyang, Meng Lisi, Missionaries, Pakistan, Quetta, Zhejiang

A Chinese Christian holds a Bible standing outside the largest Chinese church in the world: the Three Self church which seats 5,000 people, in Hangzhou city. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s drive to develop new trading routes to the West and beyond comes with an unintended and often overlooked by-product: Chinese Christian missionaries, who are putting the self-proclaimed atheistic country in a difficult spot, according to the BBC. The latest example is the story of two young Chinese who travelled . . . Read More

Family imprisoned, tortured for fleeing North Korea – and for their Christian faith

August 30, 2017 North Korea China, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, South Korea

As North Korea’s missile testing focuses the world’s attention on Kim Jong-un’s regime, one woman’s story shows how harshly families are treated when they refuse to follow his authoritarian rules. Hannah Cho* was born just before the Korean War broke out in 1950. She remembered the air-raid sirens and holding . . . Read More

Secret ministry of Chinese missionaries in northern Iraq

July 19, 2017 Balochistan, China, Iraq, Islamic State, Lee Zingyang, Meng Lisi, Missionaries, Pakistan, Quetta

Cross on Dongguang Church against factory name. Shenyang, northeastern China. Shenyang is the capital and largest city of China’s northeast Liaoning Province. It was the site of the 17th-century Manchu capital Mukden, and the imposing Mukden Palace (Shenyang Imperial Palace) is a blend of Manchurian and Tibetan architectural styles. Mausoleums of Qing dynasty emperors can be found at Zhaoling Tomb, amid the pine forests and lakes of Beiling Park, and at Fuling Tomb in the city’s east. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Christian from China’s underground Church says he feels safer working as a missionary in northern Iraq than he does at home. Such a perspective might seem somewhat surprising: but it says more about returning stability to parts of northern Iraq than it does about possible dangers in China. The South . . . Read More

Are Chinese Christians persecuted?

July 18, 2017 China China, Communism, Xi Jinping

Senior lady looking at Dongguang Church in Shenyang, northeastern China. (Photo: Open Doors International)

According to Richard Mouw, Christians in China are not facing increased persecution as much as a growing pressure to conform to Beijing’s policies. In an article for the Religion News Service, he writes that, after years of travelling to and within China, he has observed that “friendliness toward religion has . . . Read More

G20 ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle major global issue: religious freedom

July 14, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Angela Merkel, China, Eritrea, G20, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mexico, Migrants, Refugees, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey

By not discussing international religious freedom at the G20 summit in Germany last weekend, world leaders failed to address the root cause of major global issues like the migrant crisis, says David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA. As a result, “we can expect more violence from religious intolerance, a . . . Read More

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