Mainland China

A Chinese court sentenced the pastor and leaders of a 50,000-member megachurch in northeastern China to prison, rights groups reported Thursday.

Pastor Wang Xiaoguang of Linfen Fushan Church in Linfen, northern Shanxi province received three years for “illegal land occupation” and his wife Yang Rongli received a maximum of seven years for “illegal land occupation” and “assembling a crowd to disrupt public order," according to ChinaAid Association. Other church leaders received three- to four-and-a-half-year prison sentences.

The sentences are among the most severe for house church leaders in recent years. more >>

LOS ANGELES (Compass Direct News) – A Uyghur Christian in China’s troubled Xinjiang region was released last week after serving two years in a labor camp for alleged “illegal proselytizing” and “leaking state secrets,” according to Compass sources.

House church leader Osman Imin (Wusiman Yaming in Chinese) was freed on Wednesday (Nov. 18), sources said. Authorities had called for a 10-15 year prison sentence for Osman but significantly reduced the term following international media attention.

An outspoken leader of the Uyghur church in the northwestern region of China, Osman was first arrested in 2004 and kept at a detention center in Hotan, southern Xinjiang. Local sources said his arrest was almost certainly related to his church work. more >>

A delegation of leaders from the World Evangelical Alliance visited one of the fastest growing churches in China Tuesday as it continued its historic weeklong tour through the country.

Since Monday, the delegation of 24 WEA representatives has been meeting with leaders of China's official church bodies and government officials in its effort to open a two-way line of communication between the burgeoning Church in China and the worldwide evangelical community.

“Through our conversations, we have understood that they greatly value international partnerships that respect the mission and calling of the national church,” stated Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the WEA. more >>

America will always speak out for the core principles that have served as the nation’s “compass,” President Obama said during his first full day of his visit to China.

During a town hall-style meeting with future Chinese leaders in Shanghai, the president assured the crowd of young people that the United States does not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation.

“[B]ut we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation,” he continued. “These freedoms of expression and worship, of access to information and political participation, we believe are universal rights. They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities – whether they are in the United States, China, or any nation.” more >>

A delegation of 24 leaders from the World Evangelical Alliance met with leaders of China’s official church bodies Monday, building upon the relationships formed during the first visit by the alliance’s head, Geoff Tunnicliffe, in 2008.

The delegation, which arrived in Shanghai on Sunday, includes Tunnicliffe, European Evangelical Alliance General Secretary Gordon Showell-Rogers from the United Kingdom, National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson from the United States, and members of the WEA’s governing body – the International Council – among others.

On the first official day of their visit, the WEA delegation was welcomed by local Chinese officials and leaders of the state-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council, the umbrella organization for all registered Protestant churches. Among those present were CCC President Gao Feng, CCC General Secretary Kan Baoping, and Amity Foundation Board Member Bao Jiayuan. more >>