{"id":60355,"date":"2026-08-25T13:18:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T04:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=60355"},"modified":"2026-08-25T13:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T04:35:08","slug":"vomk-report-413","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/08\/25\/vomk-report-413\/","title":{"rendered":"ONLINE PETITION CALLS ON TRUMP, XI TO LET CANCER-STRICKEN PASTOR RETURN TO FAMILY IN U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60359″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A humanitarian campaign is calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the case of Pastor John Cao with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the scheduled September 24 meeting between the two leaders. Organizers say that the goal of the campaign is to secure permission for Pastor Cao, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, to travel to the United States to reunite with his wife and two children.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Cao, a U.S. permanent resident, spent seven years in a Chinese prison after years of Christian humanitarian work serving impoverished communities along the China-Myanmar border. Although he completed his full sentence and was released in 2024, Chinese authorities have continued to prevent him from leaving the country by withholding his passport.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The situation is now urgent,\u00a0<\/span>according to\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>, one of several groups uniting for the campaign<\/span>. Pastor Cao is currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones and spine. He has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment while separated from his wife<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and their two\u00a0<\/span>sons<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0who are\u00a0<\/span>U.S.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>citizen<\/span>s<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Representative Foley says that Pastor Cao has never met his\u00a0<\/span>one-year-old grandson.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60368″ img_size=”” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A banner promoting the campaign calling for cancer-stricken Pastor John Cao to be permitted to return to his family in the U.S.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThis is no longer simply a religious freedom or human rights case \u2014 it is an urgent humanitarian appeal,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley<\/span>. \u201cPastor Cao has already served every day of his seven-year sentence. With advanced cancer threatening his life, we respectfully urge President Trump to personally ask President Xi to return Pastor Cao\u2019s passport and let him come home to his family. There is no justification for prolonging this separation.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The joint campaign\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>international Christian\u00a0<\/span>organizations including Voice of the Martyrs\u00a0<\/span>Korea<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>seeks to gather 100,000 signatures before September 24<\/span>. Representative Foley says that the goal is to\u00a0<\/span>demonstrat<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0broad\u00a0<\/span>international\u00a0<\/span>public support for\u00a0<\/span>the request to\u00a0<\/span>permit<\/span>\u00a0Pastor Cao to return to his family in the U.S.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60361″ img_size=”600*800″ alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor Cao in hospital in April” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The petition can be signed online at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>www.bringcaohome.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom,\u00a0<\/span>posted on X:<\/span>\u00a0\u201cChina should allow Pastor Cao to return to his family in America. He has served his\u00a0<\/span>sentence<\/span>\u00a0for fictitious crimes. It is cruel to make him stay in China, especially now that he has Stage 4 cancer. I hope @POTUS raises his case with President Xi.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60370″ img_size=”” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor John Cao upon his release from prison” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Another prominent advocacy group, the American Center for Law and Justice, is also raising the issue. \u201cWe call on U.S. officials, human rights organizations, and faith communities to advocate clearly, consistently, and urgently for Pastor Cao\u2019s immediate humanitarian release,\u201d wrote ACLJ Senior Counsel and International Legal Director CeCe Heil. \u201cThis is a moment for governments, advocates, and communities to speak with one voice.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor John Cao, who is 65 years old,\u00a0<\/span>became a Christian in his 20s. In 1988, he married an American woman, Jamie Powell, and entered\u00a0<\/span>Nayong<\/span>\u00a0Theological Seminary. Ordained after graduation, he became a permanent resident of the U<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>S<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in 1990 but chose not to apply for citizenship. \u201cHe strongly believed China was his calling,\u201d 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\u00a0<\/span>Wa<\/span>\u00a0State region bordering China.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60365″ img_size=”” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor John Cao performs baptisms in October 2024 (photo: China Aid)” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]After three years of crossing the border between China and Myanmar without incident, Pastor Cao was arrested on March 5,\u00a0<\/span>2017,<\/span>\u00a0and eventually charged with organizing illegal border crossings and sentenced to seven years in prison in March 2018.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span>conducted a global letter writing campaign on behalf of Pastor Cao during his imprisonment.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cPastor Cao said he created a \u2018Bible\u2019 by writing down the\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>criptures he received in those letters,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Later, Pastor Cao was moved to another prison because of his evangelistic activities among the prison<\/span>er<\/span>s. There, he was prevented from receiving letters and even had prisoners assigned to him around the clock to stop him from sharing the gospel.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that Pastor Cao practiced daily morning prayer in prison despite the lack of a clock and a prohibition on speaking aloud. \u201cHe told associates that he woke up on his own at 5AM every day and turned sideways to cover his praying activities,\u201d says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Now, says\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley<\/span>, one of\u00a0<\/span>Cao<\/span>\u2019s associates\u00a0<\/span>describes the pastor\u2019s current pain level as \u201c<\/span>excruciating<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cWe need to pray for the Lord to heal Pastor Cao<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>grant him\u00a0<\/span>relief from pain, and enable him to return to his wife, children, and grandchild in the U.S.<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>We call on Christians in\u00a0<\/span>Korea<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to join with Christians around the world in the humanitarian act of signing the online petition on behalf of Pastor Cao at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>www.bringcaohome.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”60359″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A humanitarian campaign is calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the case of Pastor John Cao with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the …","protected":false},"author":1959,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.5","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\/60355","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\/1959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60355"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60381,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60355\/revisions\/60381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}