{"id":31157,"date":"2020-10-06T14:48:21","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T05:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=31157"},"modified":"2020-10-06T16:32:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T07:32:19","slug":"vomk-report-125","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2020\/10\/06\/vomk-report-125\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINESE PASTORS\u2019 LETTER BECOMES 4,400 SIGNATURE PETITION TO CHINESE EMBASSY IN SEOUL"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”31107″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea sent the Chinese Embassy in Seoul a copy of a letter originally written and signed by 439 Chinese pastors, with one addition: 28 pages of signatures from 4,400 Christians from Korea and around the world showing their support and concern for the pastors.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline” link=”|||”][vc_column_text]The signatures were gathered through an online petition website<\/span><\/span>\u00a0set up by Voice of the Martyrs Korea<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>www.chinadeclaration.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sook\u00a0 Foley<\/span><\/span>, the website shared the original Chinese document, along with translations of the document into Korean, English, and Russian<\/span><\/span>. It\u00a0<\/span><\/span>invited Christians around the world to add their signatures in solidarity with the original sign<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>rs, 439 pastors<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from across China.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The signatures were collected over the past year.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIn September 2019,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0439 Chinese<\/span><\/span>\u00a0pastors published a document entitled, \u2018A<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Joint Statement by Pastors: A Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith<\/span><\/span>\u2019\u201d,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>says Representative Foley. \u201cIt\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was written by Wang Yi, the pastor of Early Rain\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Covenant\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Church in Chengdu who was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>later\u00a0<\/span><\/span>arrested along with more than one hundred members of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his<\/span><\/span>\u00a0church. Pastor Wang remains imprisoned,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and many of the other pastors\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who signed the document\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are now\u00a0<\/span><\/span>fac<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span>\u00a0similar<\/span><\/span>ly<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>serious\u00a0<\/span><\/span>difficulties<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0We\u00a0<\/span><\/span>set up\u00a0<\/span><\/span>www.chinadeclaration.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to give Christians around the world the opportunity to show the Chinese government that we stand with these pastors and will continue to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>closely\u00a0<\/span><\/span>monitor\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and publicize\u00a0<\/span><\/span>how they are treated.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0More than 4,400 Christians signed the petition<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>that\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>more than 10\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christians\u00a0<\/span><\/span>for every\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Chinese\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pastor who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>originally\u00a0<\/span><\/span>signed the document<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”31152″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”VOM Korea founders, Pastor Eric Foley and Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, show the China Declaration petition as they prepare it for mailing to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The\u00a0<\/span>joint statement published by the pastors\u00a0<\/span>contains four declarations:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/span>Christian churches in China believe unconditionally that the Bible is the Word and Revelation of God. It is the source and final authority of all righteousness, ethics, and salvation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/span>Christian churches in China are eager and determined to walk the path of the cross of Christ and are more than willing to imitate the older generation of saints who suffered and were martyred for their faith.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/span>Christian churches in China are willing to obey authorities in China whom God has appointed and to respect the government’s authority to govern society and human conduct.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/span>All true churches in China that belong to Christ must hold to the principle of the separation of church and state and must proclaim Christ as the sole head of the church.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The full declaration is attached.<\/span> www.chinadeclaration.com<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31149″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Dr. Foley preparing the package for mailing ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31146″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Dr. Foley checking the finalized signature list ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In addition to the declaration and the 4,400 signatures, Voice of the Martyrs Korea sent a cover letter<\/span>\u00a0in Chinese. A translation follows:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Dear Honorable Ambassador<\/span>,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHerewith please find attached a petition consisting of 4,400 signatures from Christians in Korea and around the world, to be added to the signatures of the 439 Chinese pastors who authored\u00a0<\/span>\u2018A Joint Statement by Pastors: A Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith\u2019<\/span>, which was originally published for your\u00a0<\/span>government\u2019s consideration\u00a0<\/span>in September 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese 439 Chinese pastors are members of the one body of Christ which extends around the world and\u00a0<\/span>across<\/span>\u00a0history.\u00a0<\/span>As members of the same body, the 4,400 signors of the attached petition do hereby signal our intent to\u00a0<\/span>continue to\u00a0<\/span>monitor closely the treatment of your government toward the pastors who<\/span>\u00a0originally authored this d<\/span>eclaration<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We implore you to remember that as you treat them, you are thus treating Jesus Christ himself,\u00a0<\/span>the Lord of heaven and earth, and the one authority before whom every knee will one day bow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe reconciled to God and to his servants, including the 439 Chinese pastors who authored this declaration<\/span>. They remain your faithful servants for Christ\u2019s sake.<\/span>\u00a0They also remain beloved members of\u00a0<\/span>the Christian\u00a0<\/span>body<\/span>\u00a0around the world. O<\/span>n their behalf we will be diligent to\u00a0<\/span>update the leaders and fellow citizens\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0our countries\u2014from South Korea to Russia, from the USA to Europe, from Chile to Cameroon\u2014on your treatment of each of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>With prayers for you as commanded by Christ,<\/span><\/p>\n

The Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31140″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor and Dr. Foley mailing the petition at the post office ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31143″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor and Dr. Foley mailing the petition at the post office ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in learning more about Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit\u00a0<\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/china\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31156″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”The postal receipt showing shipping confirmation ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31161″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Confirmation of delivery to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230c0c0c|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=J-aSL0dqJY0″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”31107″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea sent the Chinese Embassy in Seoul a copy of a letter originally written and signed by 439 Chinese pastors, with one addition: …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":31106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}