CHINA: FORMERLY IMPRISONED PASTOR JOHN CAO DIAGNOSED WITH LATE-STAGE PROSTATE CANCER
A pastor in China who previously served a seven-year prison sentence for his ministry activity on the China/Myanmar border, is now hospitalized, unable to sleep at night or stand during the day. That’s the report from persecution watchdog Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its American partner ministry, China Aid.
Pastor John Cao, who is 65 years old, completed a seven-year prison sentence in Kunming, Yunnan province in March 2024. He was charged by Chinese authorities with “organizing others to illegally cross the border” in connection with his work of preaching, establishing schools, and benefiting more than 2000 local students in poverty-stricken areas along the China Myanmar border. Though Pastor Cao has permanent residency in the US where his wife and two sons live, he has not been permitted to return home since his release from prison. Instead, he lives with his 88-year-old mother in Changsha City, Hunan Province.
“When Pastor Cao was released from prison, he was already suffering from a variety of chronic health conditions as a result of his imprisonment,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. “Since his release, he has remained under surveillance by Chinese authorities, including constant video monitoring. Authorities refused to issue him an ID card, which made it difficult for him to receive medical care, even when he contracted coronavirus.”
Now, says Representative Foley, doctors have diagnosed him with late-stage prostate cancer, but those close to Pastor Cao believe the diagnosis may not be correct. They want permission for Pastor Cao to travel to the United States for further medical evaluation and treatment and to reunite with his family. That would require permission which the Chinese government has so far not granted. Pastor Cao has no medical insurance.
Pastor Cao has told friends he has no plans to retire.
Pastor John Cao performs baptisms in October 2024 (photo: China Aid)
“When he finished his prison sentence, he said, ‘I am now more willing to be broken with my life,’” says Representative Foley. “Since then, even though he has remained under constant surveillance by Chinese authorities, including CCTV at his home, he has continued to do ministry, even being briefly detained by police in Zhenxiong in October 2024 for participating in a public baptism service. Local police near his home told him that they intended to supervise and ‘educate’ him for five years, but in fact Pastor Cao is educating them about that the unstoppability of a man walking in the power of Christ.”
Pastor Cao became a Christian in his 20s. In 1988, he married an American woman, Jamie Powell, and entered Nayong Theological Seminary. Ordained after graduation, he became a permanent resident of the US in 1990 but chose not to apply for citizenship. “He strongly believed China was his calling,” says Representative Foley. He eventually turned his attention to Myanmar beginning in 2014, where he built 16 schools and launched anti-poverty programs in the Wa State region bordering China.
After three years of crossing the border between China and Myanmar without incident, Pastor Cao was arrested on March 5, 2017 and eventually charged with organizing illegal border crossings and sentenced to seven years in prison in March 2018. Voice of the Martyrs Korea conducted a global letter writing campaign on behalf of Pastor Cao during his imprisonment.
Pastor John Cao in hospital
“Pastor Cao said he created a ‘Bible’ by writing down the scriptures he received in those letters,” says Representative Foley. Later, she says, Pastor Cao was moved to another prison because of his evangelistic activities among the prisons. There, he was prevented from receiving letters and even had prisoners assigned to him around the clock to stop him from sharing the gospel.
Representative Foley says that Pastor Cao practiced daily morning prayer in prison despite the lack of a clock and a prohibition on speaking aloud. “He told associates that he woke up on his own at 5AM every day and turned sideways to cover his praying activities,” says Representative Foley.
Now, says Representative Foley, one of Cao’s associates describes the pastor’s current pain level as “excruciating”.
Pastor John Cao upon his release from prison
“We need to pray for the Lord to heal Pastor Cao and to grant him rest,” says Representative Foley. “Pastor Cao is not best described as a ‘former prisoner’. He should be described as a pastor who continues to do powerful ministry in China despite serious and painful health problems and the continued oppression of the Chinese government.”
Individuals interested in donating to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/donation or give via electronic transfer to:
KB Bank: 463501-01-243303
Account Holder: (사)순교자의소리
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