China

China was declared the People’s Republic of China in 1949 by Chairman Mao Zedong, who quickly sought to purge society of anything that would point to religion. China’s people have had to endure great hardship ever since. The human rights record in China is one of the worst in the world. Its system of “re-education through labor” detains hundreds of thousands each year in work camps without even a court hearing.

Religion: Non-Religious/other 49.58%, Chinese 28.50%, Buddhist 8.38%, Christian 7.25%, Traditional ethnic 4.29%, and Muslim 2.0%

Ideological Influence: Communism

Head of State: Hu Jintao

Persecution: The confiscation of church property and Bibles continues—even Bibles officially printed by the government. The house-church movement (illegally unregistered churches), which comprises approximately 90 percent of China’s Christians, endures unimaginable persecution yet stands on its commitment to preach the gospel no matter the cost. A major crackdown against unregistered church groups continued in 2004. Several hundred Christians were arrested during that year’s late spring and summer. A 28-year-old Christian teacher and a 34-year-old female evangelist were among Christians beaten to death while in police custody in 2004. In 2005, 100 security officers from five Chinese government agencies raided the conference of 140 house-church leaders and 10 guest pastors in northeastern China. The police, accompanied by the Religious Affairs Bureau, not only seized Bibles and Christian study materials, but they also arrested many attendees, including two American pastors who were detained, questioned and then deported for taking part in “barbaric” and “uncivilized” activities. In late September 2005, church historian Zhang Yi Nan was released from a Henan province labor camp after serving two years of re-education through labor. He was charged with “subverting the Chinese government and socialist order” because of his unregistered church activities.

Missionary Opportunity: Bibles are still in great demand; and the need for hymnals, tracts, apologetic materials, Bible study and other teaching materials is high.