Liu Cui, a member of Lishi Christian Church, was reported by her husband for tutoring six children. Authorities placed her in administrative
detention for 10 days.
On Wednesday, October 11th from about 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM, Liu Cui tutored six children from four families. Their ages ranged between 10 and 15 years old. All of them were in a co-op group at the Lishi Church Academy.
Liu Cui’s husband is a non-believer and objects to his wife’s beliefs. On the 11th, he came to the church school and discovered her with the students. Soon after, he reported his wife’s activities to the Education Bureau, Religion Bureau, and Public Security Bureau. Relevant authorities rushed to raid the church academy, taking away school supplies including Bibles, psalm books, and bible commentaries. Not all of the parents were present at the time, and those who were present had their information registered by the authorities. The police took Liu Cui, and it was not until about 9:30 PM that the church learned that she was sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention.
In recent years, the Chinese government escalated its persecution of Christian education. All over China, whether in big cities or rural areas, house church schools, academies, and co-education have continued to be raided and outlawed. Police arrested academy founders, co-workers, and teachers. However, in some severe cases, the parents have been disqualified from legal guardianship.
Suppression of Christian education relates closely to the Chinese government’s ideological control by brainwashing children. Previously, the Chinese Communist Party introduced a series of laws and regulations, including the Compulsory Education Law and the Law on the Protection of Minors, to force parents to send their children to public schools.
To counter the ideological indoctrination, many Chinese Christians insist that their children attend parochial schools and be home-schooled. An estimated 50,000 families in China homeschool their children, the vast majority of which are Christian families. For this reason, these families are under tremendous political and social pressure.
Instead of entering mainstream Chinese society and enjoying social benefits, these children will be marginalized and even subject to judicial persecution. Nevertheless, Christians are still willing to take up their crosses and bear this unjust treatment.
PRAYERS FROM CHINA
Zion Reformed Church sent a letter of intercession on behalf of Liu Cui. ChinaAid asks its supporters to pray for her.
Pray that the Lord will watch over this church and over Liu Cui, who has been taken away, and that the Lord will be with her. We don’t know the extent of the difficulties that this church and this co-education group will face in the future, but the outcome is already in God’s hands. Lord, we see that this group of Christian parents is like a group of people who do not follow the customs of this world. We also see how much resistance there is to this path, but we believe the Lord’s grace is greater. Pray that the Lord will keep them, the ministry of Christian education, and the future of God’s family.
~Lemon, Contributor for ChinaAid
