China: Christian school raided
Authorities from Siming District raided a Christian school and fined the person in charge of the school 100,000 yuan (£11,619.14). They said that they had discovered religious education training without authorisation, and demanded that all activities stop. Any appeal must be made within three days of receiving the notice and fine. In recent years the government has intensified repression on Christian education, with constant raids and arrests. Also, lawmakers issued new policies to tighten control over homeschooling and private education. In the Family Education Promotion, the government now has authority over education outside and inside the home. Christians constitute the majority of the homeschooling population, so it is anticipated that more Christian schools will face further persecution in the future. Christian churches and church leaders are also being persecuted multiple times.
China: Christians urged to boycott winter Olympics
Despite the pandemic, the Winter Olympic Games hosted by China are expected to go ahead as normal. However human rights groups have raised concern over the religious freedom violations carried out there. US president Joe Biden has already introduced a diplomatic boycott, followed by other nations including the UK. Now Christians are being urged to play their part in standing in solidarity with persecuted brothers and sisters in China. Open Doors and a former US ambassador for religious freedom are calling for action, saying, ‘In the USA people of faith are woefully ignorant of the plight of their fellow believers in China. The persecution of Chinese Christians is rarely if ever mentioned in American megachurches. Raising awareness has been a long, slow struggle for organisations exposing religious persecution in China and elsewhere’. They are calling for Christians to break their silence, pray and fast, and pressurise their politicians to act.
Kazakhstan: violent protests
Protests in Kazakhstan began on 2 January when the government removed a fuel price cap. The speed with which protests turned violent surprised everyone, hinting that they are not only about fuel. This is a traditionally stable Central Asian state, often described as authoritarian, with no electoral democracy - so people needed to take to the streets to be heard. Accusing foreign-trained ‘terrorist gangs’ of being behind the trouble, President Tokayev imposed a state of emergency that includes a curfew, a ban on mass gatherings, and Russian assistance to help ‘stabilise’ the country. Dozens of protesters were ‘eliminated’ after they stormed police buildings to steal weapons. By 6 January about 1,000 people had been injured; 400 are being treated in hospital and 62 are in intensive care. Twelve members of the security forces have been killed, and 353 injured.
Sudan: prime minister resigns
Prime minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned after pro-democracy protests by thousands against his power-sharing deal with the army. Chanting ‘power to the people’, they called for a return to full civilian rule. The military responded with force, and Hamdok's resignation left them in full control, damaging Sudan's attempt for democratic rule. Mr Hamdok said that Sudan was at a ‘dangerous turning point threatening its survival’, and he had tried his best to stop the country from ‘sliding towards disaster’. He added, ‘Mediation attempts with civilian and military officials to achieve the necessary consensus to deliver to our people the promise of peace, justice and no bloodshed have failed.’ An economist by training, he is widely respected in the international community, having previously worked as an official with the UN. He helped negotiate removal of some of Sudan's debts, but this involved removing fuel subsidies, leading to higher prices of goods and then anti-government protests.
