{"id":51788,"date":"2024-11-05T14:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T05:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=51788"},"modified":"2024-11-05T14:42:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T05:42:36","slug":"vomk-report-323","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2024\/11\/05\/vomk-report-323\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: PASTORS JOHN CAO AND CHANG HAO ARRESTED FOR PERFORMING BAPTISMS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51777″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”While on a visit to Chang Hao Jundosanim in Zhenxiong on October 14, Pastor John Cao (Chinese name Cao Sanqiang) performed multiple baptisms before being disrupted by over twenty police officers. All who were present were taken to the local police station for statements before being released, according to persecution ministry Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its China partner, China Aid. ” 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][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u201c<\/span><\/span>The church pastored by Chang Hao had over ten new Christians who needed baptism<\/span>,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Out of respect for church tradition, Chang Hao, considering himself a <\/span>jundosa<\/span> and<\/span> not yet ordained as a pastor, believed the baptism ceremony should be conducted by an ordained pastor. <\/span>So<\/span> he <\/span>invited Pastor John Cao to perform the baptism for these new believers.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> Representative Foley<\/span> says that o<\/span>n October 15, Pastor John Cao explained Acts 2:28 to thirteen new believers and baptized them. Thirty church members also attended the gathering. Since the meeting was held on a Tuesday morning, most attendees were elderly, with an average age over 70.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Just as Chang Hao announced the end of the baptism service, over twenty police officers burst into the meeting place, shouting: <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Don\u2019t<\/span> move! Hand over your phones!<\/span>\u2019\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>They then searched everyone\u2019s pockets. When some elderly people were slightly slow to respond, the police shouted at them. An 89-year-old sister told them, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>We are Christians having a peaceful gathering. We <\/span>haven\u2019t<\/span> broken any laws.<\/span>\u2019<\/span> But b<\/span>efore she could finish, the police yelled at her.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51779″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Subsequently, the police took all attendees to the <\/span>Zhenxiong<\/span> County Public Security Bureau. <\/span>Witnesses say that a<\/span>s each believer walked towards the police vehicles, they were flanked by officers to prevent communication. There were over ten police cars and several special police vans.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>At the police station, these elderly and frail believers were left in a corner. From morning until night, only after repeated requests <\/span>were<\/span> they provided with a cup of water and a piece of bread<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cIt was difficult for them to <\/span>endure such physical hardship.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51786″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor John Cao performs baptisms in 2024 (photo: China Aid)” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|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]Around midnight, after completing their statements, the elderly believers were released one by one. <\/span>Witnesses say that t<\/span>he <\/span>main focus<\/span> of the questioning was on two points: who informed them about the gathering, and who preached and performed the baptisms. Pastor John Cao was released at midnight after completing his statement, while Chang Hao <\/span>Jundosanim <\/span>was given a 12-day punishment for illegal religious gathering.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Meanwhile, the police destroyed the meeting place, smashing the projector and confiscating the church\u2019s Bible and other equipment.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Police from Changsha Public Security Bureau escorted Pastor John Cao back to Changsha.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Pastor John Cao was previously charged by the Chinese authorities with the crime of \u201corganizing others to illegally cross the border\u201d and sentenced to seven years in prison in March 2018 for preaching, <\/span>establishing<\/span> schools, and benefiting more than 2000 local students in poverty-stricken areas along the China Myanmar border.<\/span> He was released from prison in March 2024.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”51787″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor John Cao and Chang Hao Jundosanim” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|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]This <\/span>was <\/span>Chang Hao<\/span> Jundosanim<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> twentieth-plus administrative detention, each time for the same reason: illegal evangelism.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>In his early years, Chang Hao\u2019s hands were severely burned in a factory fire, leaving him unable to hold objects. He is recognized as a person with disabilities by the state<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The <\/span>Zhenxiong<\/span> Public Security Bureau not only violates religious freedom but also cruelly denies Chang Hao <\/span>Jundosanim <\/span>any opportunity to make a living.<\/span>\u201d<\/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 <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/a> or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\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=”51777″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”While on a visit to Chang Hao Jundosanim in Zhenxiong on October 14, Pastor John Cao (Chinese name Cao Sanqiang) performed multiple baptisms before being disrupted by …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":51776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","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":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51788","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=51788"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51794,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51788\/revisions\/51794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}