China Orders Citizens to 'Hunt Down' All Books with Religion
Chinese American Pastor Bob Fu of the group China Aid, which provides legal aid to Christians in the People's Republic, recently tweeted, "New Cultural Revolution" starts in #CCPChina this notice to students in a 1st Grade class demanding all parents and teachers to hunt all "religious books, antagonistic books & overseas books including books & videos that are copied/duplicated & translated". Everyone is mandated!"
CBN News says this is not only just another effort by the Chinese Communist Party to indoctrinate students, but it's also trying to prevent disruptions for the 2022 Winter Olympics which will be held in Beijing next February.
"We've got an Olympics coming up and the Chinese communist government does not want any disruptions for the Olympics," Lane said during an interview. "They really fear there could be protests, a pro-democracy movement going, and so forth, leading up to the Olympics and during the Olympics."
"So this sends a message to the parents. 'Look, no outside influence. We don't want any collusion with foreigners here,' because they know that foreigners are pro-democracy," Lane explained. "And so they are indoctrinating students, but they are also targeting not only the youth of China, but also sending a message to the adults."
Alongside this, on June 29, Bitter Winter (A magazine on religious liberty and human rights) published an article revealing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled a "Christianity Loves the Party" Exhibition in Shanghai, claiming that “the Chinese Communist Party has been inextricably linked to Christianity from the day of its birth.” Even though the CCP "arrested, tortured, and killed countless believers" during its century reign, authorities expect religions to express enthusiasm and celebrate the 100th anniversary of CCP.
The exhibition tells the story of Christians who helped the first Communists, with some becoming members of the CCP. However, what the exhibition does not tell is that many of these Christians were later expelled from the Party and even executed, while the CCP clarified that only atheists can become Party members.
In this year, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP, the government has ordered local officials and police officers to strengthen their persecution against all dissident groups, in particular Christian religious movements.
Sources / More: CBN News, Bitter Winter, China Aid
Pray:
Pray with us for the safety of Christians living in China (1 Samuel 2:9)
Pray with us for courage, perseverance and hope for the Church in China.
Pray with us that international political leadership will continue to challenge human rights abuses in China.
Canada – pain, grief and brokenness
Canada is a nation enduring significant pain and grief following the recent discovery of the unmarked graves of indigenous children in a number of sites, including Kamloops. The Kamloops Indian Residential school was one of the largest in Canada and operated from the late 19th century to the late 1970s. It was opened and run by the Catholic Church until the federal government took it over in the late 1960s. It closed permanently about a decade later and now houses a museum and a community facility with both cultural and memorial events. In 2015 Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report detailing the damaging legacy of the country's residential school system. Thousands of mostly indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools.
The report detailed decades of physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by children in government and church run institutions. As was documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, many of the children in residential schools did not receive adequate medical care with some dying prematurely of diseases like tuberculous.
The commission estimates that more than 4,000 children died while at residential schools over a period of several decades, but the final commission report acknowledges it was impossible to know the true number.
Watchmen for the Nations, a family of believers who long to see Canada become a dwelling place for the Lord, state:
“Canada is positioned in a crucial moment. From her foundations, the Lord has laid ancient paths for her people to walk in as one family consisting of different colors, tribes, and tongues. He is revealing the breaches in the walls of Canada that need to be addressed and acknowledged. We ask for wisdom on how to rebuild. Amidst the brokenness, God is healing the land of Canada that she might walk in the fullness of her calling to be a leaf of healing to the nations.
Together, we stand in one heart with Canada as she returns to these ancient paths. We lay hold of God's promises and proclaim His faithfulness and purposes over the First Nations family in the land. We believe the Lord will raise a standard from the heart of this nation for His pleasure and glory.”
Sources/ More: Watchmen for the Nations, CNN
Pray:
Pray for the overwhelming healing love of God to flood the nation of Canada (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Pray with us that for wisdom in political leadership, bringing society together to rebuild the nation
Pray with us that for an end to violence and attacks associated with these terrible events
Hong Kong: A year on from the imposition of the National Security Law
With each passing day, the boundary between Hong Kong and the rest of China fades faster.
The Chinese Communist Party is remaking this city, permeating its once vibrant, irreverent character with ever more overt signs of its authoritarian will. The very texture of daily life is under assault as Beijing moulds Hong Kong into something more familiar, more docile.
Residents now swarm police hotlines with reports about disloyal neighbours or colleagues. Teachers have been told to imbue students with patriotic fervour through 48-volume book sets called “My Home Is in China.” Public libraries have removed dozens of books from circulation, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
Under Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the Communist Party has grown tired of Hong Kong’s duelling identities. To the party, they made the city unpredictable, even bringing it to the edge of rebellion in 2019, when anti-government protests erupted.
Now, armed with the expansive national security law it imposed on the city one year ago, Beijing is pushing to turn Hong Kong into another of its mainland megacities: economic engines where dissent is immediately smothered.
The Hong Kong government has issued hundreds of pages of new curriculum guidelines designed to instil “affection for the Chinese people.” Geography classes must affirm China’s control over disputed areas of the South China Sea. Students as young as 6 will learn the offenses under the security law.
All of this has led to a wave of emigration. Many Hong Kongers have applied for immigration visas to the United Kingdom through their British National Overseas (BNO) status. According to a report by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford in May, 34,000 Hong Kongers have applied to live in the UK in the first three months of 2021, whilst The Times reports that 100,000 people have left in the last 12 months. This is particularly true of families with children who believe that the ‘old’ Hong Kong is now lost.
At the same time, at least three major US tech companies, Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet’s Google, have threatened to leave Hong Kong in protest at planned changes to data-protection laws as the pro-Chinese government cracks down on dissent.
The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry body backed by the US tech firms, warned Hong Kong’s personal data privacy commissioner that proposed amendments to privacy laws may force its members to stop investing there.
Sources: The Times, Irish Times, New York Times
Pray:
Pray with us for the safety of those who stand against China’s authoritarian rule of Hong Kong
Pray with us for wisdom as families and individuals determine whether to stay of leave
Pray with us for the Church in Hong Kong to remain strong in the face of suppression (Acts 20:28-30)
USA – Miami apartment block collapse
As of 7th July, the total number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of the Florida apartment block stands at 36, while 109 residents are still missing. Emergency teams are increasingly pessimistic of finding any more survivors among the rubble and say they have detected no signs of life since the immediate aftermath.
Nearly 2 weeks after the collapse, the search continues but with few positive signs. The building’s collapse occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on June 24 while almost all of the residents were sleeping. The structural failure initially began in the pool deck and garage areas, which engineers believe triggered the collapse of the midsection of the tower and then the front part facing the ocean. Fifty-five of the 136 condo units were destroyed.
Particular help has come from local synagogues given the apartment block, Champlain Tower South Condo, was in the area of Surfside, which has a tight knit Jewish community.
Many members are affected by the disaster: at least 34 of the missing are Jewish, one local synagogue told journalists. Synagogues in the neighbourhood have been collecting money and providing food for rescue workers and survivors. One synagogue raised more than $100,000 in just a few hours.
Pope Francis sent a message to the Archbishop of Miami, the Most Revd Thomas Wenski, on Saturday, and offered “heartfelt prayer that Almighty God will grant eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy”.
The cause of the collapse is not clear, although an engineer’s report from 2018, revealed on Saturday, referred to “a major error” in the original design of the 12-storey sea-front Champlain Towers. It said that the fault prevented water from draining away from the base of the building.
The Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt Revd Peter Eaton, said that prayers were said in the diocese on Sunday. “We pray for the dead and the grieving, the injured, and those still unaccounted for, and their family and friends who are waiting anxiously for news of them. We also pray for those who are now homeless, and who have lost everything.”
He asked Episcopalians: “Please remember in your prayers, as well, those who are working around the clock to search for survivors, to recover the dead, and to account for the missing.”
Sources / More: The Church Times, MSN News
Pray:
Pray with us for grieving families and individuals, that they may be comforted by the overwhelming peace of God. (Psalm 34:18)
Pray for the search and rescue teams, that they may be sustained in hope and strength even as they grow wearier and more despondent.
Pray with us for the local Church, that they will know how best to reach out in love and support to those affected.
