{"id":36550,"date":"2021-05-11T13:08:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T04:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=36550"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:13:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:13:10","slug":"vomk-report-154","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/05\/11\/vomk-report-154\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: POLICE RAID EARLY RAIN CHURCH TUTORING PROGRAM, DETAIN YOUTH AND PARENTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36554″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”On April 21, more than 10 police officers of Chengdu City Wenjiang District entered a residence, seizing four adult members of Early Rain Covenant Church and 12 adolescents who were participating in a tutoring program operated by the church at the location. Three Christians living at the residence were also detained. It is the latest event in the now two and a half year-long crackdown by authorities on the church, whose pastor, Wang Yi, was arrested along with more than 100 church members on December 9, 2018. ” 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”][vc_column_text]According to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the raid happened at 10AM<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Wednesday, April 21<\/span><\/span>. P<\/span><\/span>olice\u00a0<\/span><\/span>then\u00a0<\/span><\/span>transported the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>19\u00a0<\/span><\/span>adults and adolescents to the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Yongning<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Sub-district Police Station<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Chengdu City\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Wenjiang<\/span><\/span>\u00a0District<\/span><\/span>, where they were\u00a0<\/span><\/span>questioned<\/span><\/span>\u00a0into the evening<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span><\/span>Parents of the adolescents phoned the police station multiple times, asking why police took their children and when they would release them<\/span><\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cBut the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0police officer\u00a0<\/span><\/span>reportedly responded\u00a0<\/span><\/span>rudely<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0without giving a clear answer<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ignoring basic protection for underaged children.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Police did not permit the 12 adolescents and four adult<\/span><\/span>\u00a0congregants<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to leave the police station until around 9 pm. Officers continued to detain\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>three Christian<\/span><\/span>s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who live\u00a0<\/span><\/span>at the residence\u00a0<\/span><\/span>without revealing the reason for their detention to family members.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36558″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chengdu, China ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|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]<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Christians around the world\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wrongly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>think that Early Rain Church\u00a0<\/span><\/span>must have ceased operating by now\u00a0<\/span><\/span>due to this relentless onslaught\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by the Chinese government<\/span><\/span>. B<\/span><\/span>ut\u00a0<\/span><\/span>as this latest raid shows, it is the government that is getting desperate, not the church<\/span><\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span><\/span>First, the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>authorities\u00a0<\/span><\/span>arrested church leaders\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on December 9, 2018, with Pastor Wang Yi\u00a0<\/span><\/span>now\u00a0<\/span><\/span>sentenced to serve nine years in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>prison and<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Elder Qin\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Defu<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>sentenced\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to four<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>year<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Then\u00a0<\/span><\/span>authorities<\/span><\/span>\u00a0closed the church building and confiscated church possessions.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Throughout this time, p<\/span><\/span>olice\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have\u00a0<\/span><\/span>held several dozen people under administrative<\/span><\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span><\/span>criminal detention and long-term custody.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>But in this latest raid, the authorities\u00a0<\/span><\/span>show that they\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are now desperate enough to detai<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>\u00a0adolescents.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the church operates the private tutoring program because the government\u00a0<\/span><\/span>insists that Early Rain Church children must attend public schools. \u201cThe church members\u00a0<\/span><\/span>refus<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to subject the<\/span><\/span>ir children to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>atheistic Communist Party\u00a0<\/span><\/span>education. M<\/span><\/span>any\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the church\u00a0<\/span><\/span>families have chosen to tutor their children together to provide a Christian education. In turn, police have repeatedly harassed them. Sometimes, police transported children to the police station when their parents were not home, attempting to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>get information\u00a0<\/span><\/span>about the church.<\/span><\/span>\u201d But Representative Foley says that<\/span><\/span>\u00a0these tactics have backfired on the authorities. \u201c<\/span><\/span>Instead of succumbing to police pressure, these children who have grown up learning the Bible d<\/span><\/span>o\u00a0<\/span><\/span>not fear\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>police. Instead, they share the gospel with them. The children\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have\u00a0<\/span><\/span>even debated evolution and creation with\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>police officers.<\/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=”36559″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”File photo of a children’s church meeting at Early Rain Covenant Church ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|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]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that p<\/span><\/span>olice continue to monitor many\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of the Early Rain church members<\/span><\/span>, as well as routinely shut<\/span><\/span>ting<\/span><\/span>\u00a0off their water and electricity.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>At times, they\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have\u00a0<\/span><\/span>stuff<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span>\u00a0door locks with toothpicks to prevent\u00a0<\/span><\/span>church\u00a0<\/span><\/span>members from entering their own homes. Authorities\u00a0<\/span><\/span>reportedly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pressure\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the church members<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>employers to fire\u00a0<\/span><\/span>them and the church\u00a0<\/span><\/span>members<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0landlords to evict\u00a0<\/span><\/span>them.<\/span><\/span>\u201d But Representative Foley says that<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the persecution the church is experiencing does not discourage the church members but only increases their resolve and boldness. \u201cThey\u2019re standing up to the Communist Party of China, and they\u2019re winning<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0simply by\u00a0<\/span><\/span>remaining\u00a0<\/span><\/span>faithful to the Lord<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0no matter the cost,<\/span><\/span>\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>. \u201cCertainly<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Early Rain Church looks a lot different than before the raids began. But in the Lord\u2019s eyes, it only looks more beautiful.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in donating to Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit www.vomkorea.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/span>en\/donation<\/span>\u00a0or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Account Holder: (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note \u201cChina\u201d on the transfer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36554″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”On April 21, more than 10 police officers of Chengdu City Wenjiang District entered a residence, seizing four adult members of Early Rain Covenant Church and 12 …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":36553,"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-36550","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\/36550","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=36550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}