Christian Daily
Lorraine Caballero
■ A pastor from Hong Kong has been prosecuted in mainland China for printing Christian books, a move that is reportedly seen as part of the Chinese government’s growing desire to control religion.
Constant Kim, a member of the Christian Church of Chinese Ministry, said Rev. Ng Wah disappeared in July and apparently was formally arrested in China. Kim said he got details of the Hong Kong pastor’s fate from an “authoritative source” in the mainland, UCA News reports.
“It is political persecution … Some extreme leftist officials in Guangzhou did this,” said Kim, as quoted by Christian Today.
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Daily reported that the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court heard Ng’s trial on Feb. 19. The pastor was reportedly tried in a fraud case involving more than US$15.43 million (CNY100 million).
The first defendant in Rev. Wah’s fraud case was Lin Jingying, who organized a Protestant house church not approved by the Chinese government.
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| Commercial towers at the financial Central district are seen behind a lion decoration in Hong Kong, China January 5, 2016. (Reuters/Bobby Yip) |
Rev. Philip Woo, Ng’s church colleague, was ordered to come to Shenzhen where he was told by police to stop preaching the message of Christianity. This happened on the same month that contact with the Hong Kong pastor, Rev. Wah, was lost. Woo was also accused of disobeying China’s religious laws when he posted an online message inviting Chinese Christians to train in Hong Kong.
In a conversation with UCA News, Woo said what happened in July reflected China’s tightening religious situation.
Other Christian leaders have also been imprisoned as China has taken a stricter approach toward religion. Pastor Gu Yuese, who was jailed for opposing the state’s cross-removal campaign in Zhejiang, has just been released but was placed under “residential surveillance,” Christian Today relays.
China Aid thinks the government released Pastor Yuese and Christian human rights lawyer Zhang Kai in preparation for President Xi Jinping’s trip to the United States to attend the Nuclear Security Summit.
Ni Yulan, another Christian human rights lawyer, has been blocked from entering the United States to receive an International Women of Courage Award. She was denied a new passport because of her involvement with lawyers who were detained in a July 9 crackdown.
China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
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Website: www.chinaaid.org