House Church Closed in Anhui, Xinjiang - Christians Suffer in Jail
December 19, 2006
MIDLAND, Texas, Dec. 11 /Christian Newswire/ — CAA learned recently the local government of Tongling City, Anhui Province is taking administrative measures that interfere with the religious affairs of Christians by forcing them to join the Three-Self Church.
November 26, 2006 a house church assembly in Laodong Xincui, Tongling City, Anhui Province, was closed by the local Religious Affair Bureau. The church leaders were told to worship in the local Three-Self Church.
The house church was founded by renowned Christian Brother Wang Xingquan 53 years ago and currently has a membership of approximately 200 Christians. Brother Wang was thrown into prison for his faith during the Cultural Revolution.
In order to exert more pressure on Brother Wang, his daughter’s work unit stopped paying her salary, and has threatened to fire her unless she sets an example for other Christians by joining the local Three-Self Church. Another brother under threat of losing his job was coerced to resign from the church.
December 5, 2006 upon the request of the Christians, the government held a hearing in which the Religious Affair Bureau’s decision to close the church was upheld.
Currently the Christians hold worship services in their homes; they said they are preparing for further legal action to regain their right of religious freedom.
“The Religious Affair Bureau is only one department in the government in charge of religious affairs. It is definitely not powerful enough to force a work unit to stop paying its employees.” said Bob Fu, President of CAA, “It is obvious that the entire course of action was formulated by the upper level government. Tongling government’s resorting to administrative methods to interfere with religious affairs ultimately tramples the spirit and promise of religious freedom stipulated in the Chinese Constitution and International Laws. We hope that the Tongling government corrects their mistakes and protects religious freedom of its citizens.
CAA also learned that all of the Christians arrested October 20, 2006 in Qingshuihe Town, Huocheng County, Yili City, Xinjiang autonomous area were released by November 26, 2006. Four brothers were locked in the detention center for 32 days, one brother and two sisters 14 days. No legal documents were issued when they were arrested and released.
Four brothers who were locked up for 32 days are now in the hospital for medical treatment as a result of being severely tortured by other prisoners. “I was beaten daily morning, noon and night! They beat me if I ate the food or did not eat the food, ate too much or too little, went to the toilet or did not go to the toilet! They just beat me for no reason.” one brother said. What’s more, the Christians were clearly told by the prisoners that they were beaten according to the instructions from the police officers in charge of the detention centre.
Brother Tan’s experience is especially horrible. He was intentionally placed in a cell with homosexual prisoners where he suffered the humiliation being sexually abused as well as physically beaten. “I would not come out alive if I had been with them any longer.” said brother Tan.
“It is totally intolerable to treat a sixty-year old man like that!” said Bob Fu, President of CAA. “We appeal to the Xinjiang government to investigate this event and punish the people involved in detaining and abusing these Christians.”
CAA has sent a representative to Xinjiang to comfort and encourage these suffering brothers and sisters. Please contact CAA if you wish to help them.
Christian Newswire
Making Children into Commodities, the Fruit of the Stem Cell Industry
December 19, 2006
BUDAPEST, Hungary, Dec. 18 /Christian Newswire/ — Biblical Family Advocates was stunned to learn that the stem cell research industry may have reached another dark chapter in its campaign to violate the human rights of children.
In an article by Matthew Hill, of the BBC, entitled Ukraine babies in stem cell probe http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6171083.stm reveals that there are accounts from Ukrainian women that after the delivery of their babies, that their newborns were stolen by maternity staff, presumably for stem cell research. Citing a report in the article, it stated that, “In its report, the Council describes a general culture of trafficking of children snatched at birth, and a wall of silence from hospital staff upwards over their fate. The pictures show organs, including brains, have been stripped - and some bodies dismembered.” The article also stated that “Ukraine has become the self-styled stem cell capital of the world.”
“Many governments across the globe should put enormous pressure on the government of Ukraine to see to it that these horrific practices are not occurring and if they have, prosecutions should be pursued for kidnapping, murder and trafficking in human body parts,” says Phil Magnan, Director for Biblical Family Advocates.
“Many have warned the stem cell industry about the reducing of embryonic children to commodities and parts, because the slippery slope leads right up to the time of birth. It is apparent that the stem cell industries bottom line creates the kind of atmosphere that even a child cannot be born into this world without being a possible candidate for dismemberment, for profit.”
Magnan continued, “We grieve for the mothers and fathers who have lost their newborns to this horrific practice and we are amazed that hospital staff may have breached a patients trust in the worst way, selling them out to the highest bidder.”
Biblical Family Advocates demands that the stem cell industry cease from its horrific practice of reducing children to mere parts to be commercialized. All children should be afforded the same dignity and protection as anyone else who is made in the image of God.
Biblical Family Advocates also challenges the stem cell industry to cease from its waste of tax payer dollars on embryonic stem research that has only yielded dead, cloned embryonic children and false hopes for cures. Instead, they are strongly encouraged to use adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells which are responsible for over 70 actual cures and therapies for debilitating diseases.
Christian Newswire
The Miracle of the International Pro Life Community Coming Together by Proclamation, Restoration and Intercession
December 19, 2006
Contact: Bert Dorenbos, Cry for Life, +31 (0) 35 624 4352 www.schreeuwomleven.nl or
Phil Magnan, director of Biblical Family Advocates, 36-1-246-2587
Amsterdam-Biblical Family Advocates is pleased to announce the profound blessings associated with the efforts of the United for Life conference sponsored by Schreeeuw om Leven, (Cry for Life), Netherlands, that brought together pro life advocates from at least 7 Countries.
The conference delegates, from India, Holland, Belgium, Russia, Hungary, USA and Germany came together not only to network their intentions and visions, but also to go to many places of international interest. These international delegates went to the European Union in Brussels, in which they were not only briefed by a representative of the European Commission, but were also able to have an intercessory prayer gathering on behalf of the EU and its leadership at the entrance gat of the European Parliament. Additionally, efforts were made to contact the Dutch Parliament in The Hague, within its own courts and buildings with the message of life and publicly praying for their leadership to encourage the Dutch Parliament to stand up for the rights of the unborn and consider the tragic effects of abortion on women.
One of most profound moments was the revealing of thousands of signed affidavits’ by women who had been injured by abortion. These documents of sworn testimony was assembled by attorney’s Allan Parker and Clayton Trotter of the Justice Foundation USA, www.txjf.org, and was given to those associated with the Dutch Parliament, in the foyer of Dutch assembly building as well as at a historic church, Noorderkerk Church, gathering in which Dutch Parliament member Dr. Bas J. van der Vlies was given the volumes of heart felt testimony of women wounded by abortion.
Present at these events were many courageous women from Holland and the USA who had themselves undergone the abortion procedure and have suffered the horrendous effects of abortion. They are part of the Justice Foundation’s project Operation Outcry/Silent No More in which the largest body of testimonies has been assembled in the world regarding the effects of abortion on women. Centered prominently in these tragic effects is the need for churches to proclaim that abortion is a grave sin, but also proclaim the forgiveness of Christ to help break the cycle of abortion, in which 50 million children are killed world wide every year. This church event had followed the remarkable gathering of hundreds of peaceful pro life advocates who marched in downtown Amsterdam
Pastor John Ebenezar from India said that female infanticide was commonplace in India and challenged pro life Christians to respond to this crisis. Vishal Mangalwadi, from India/Hollywood, whose scholarly work regarding the Bibles profound impact on western civilization was met with great interest from the largest media service in the Netherlands, the Evangelical Voradvasting Company (EO). “It was simply amazing how many opportunities were afforded to us in the Netherlands and Belgium in which we were praying constantly at many gatherings as well as becoming part of the political process by spiritual advocacy.” So says Phil Magnan Director of Biblical Family Advocates. “It is our hope to continue this fine work of bringing many different countries together on the issues of life with the understanding that many forms of ministry are needed to completely address the ongoing war on the unborn and those men and women involved in it. We found out that we have a lot of friends who have the same conviction to stop the atrocity of abortion.”
Drs. Bert P. Dorenbos
voorzitter / president
Schreeuw om Leven / Cry for Life
Ruitersweg 35-37
1211 KT Hilversum
The Netherlands
P: +31 (0)35 624 43 51 / +31 (0)35 624 43 52
F: +31 (0)35 624 91 41
info@schreeuwomleven.nl
www.schreeuwomleven.nl
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 /Christian Newswire/ — Through a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) Beverly LaHaye Institute (BLI) launched “The Bridge Project” –– an effort that sponsored 17 training sessions that reached 7,000 people across Mexico to train them for leadership in combating sex trafficking.
Bridge Project Director and BLI Senior Fellow Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse reported that CWA’s Bridge Project resulted in over 600 people being trained to lobby for stronger legislation in prosecuting criminals who traffic in persons, produced a shelter manual to guide the rescue of victims, produced a 56-page analysis of the legal aspects of trafficking in Mexico’s Federal Penal Code, collected 1,318 articles and 17 books about trafficking, produced a database on where victims are vulnerable, produced 80 policy recommendations, produced blueprints for a shelter, launched an awareness campaign for tourist industry personnel and published articles on the popular Web site, “Yo Influyo.”
Brenda Zurita, who coordinated the project for CWA, explained, “In April 2005, 16 Mexican leaders came to CWA’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a week-long training session. Subsequently, 5 of those leaders –– all members of Red Familia, an umbrella group of pro-family organizations –– were chosen to launch projects in Mexico through their organizations.”
Dr. Crouse said, “This is one of the most satisfying and successful projects that I have ever been involved with. We have laid the ground work in Mexico and our Mexican colleagues are trained and prepared to continue building on that foundation. This is the beginning of the end of trafficking in persons in Mexico. The worldwide criminal networks that are using Mexico as a route to bring victims to the U.S. will find that their way is blocked. The wonderful, dedicated people who worked so tirelessly on the Bridge Project will continue to move forward as modern day abolitionists.”
Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.
