A report released Monday, June 26, by the China Aid Association lists events of persecution in different provinces of China from May 2005 to May 2006. The report shows that 1,958 house church pastors and Christians were affected in 15 provinces across China. Teacher and leadership training events seem to be viewed as particularly threatening by the government officials who seem to aim to control the indoctrination of the next generation of Christians. The central province of Henan was listed as the worst for persecution against house churches with 823 pastors and believers arrested in 11 raids from July 2005 to May 2006. The report shows that police officers and religious affairs cadres often mistreated and tortured the Christian captives. Two women, ages 72 and 21, were forced to strip during questioning. There are about 10 million state-registered Protestants in China and an estimated 50 million unregistered "house church" Protestants. (China Aid Association/Christian Newswire/WorldWide Religious News)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra broadcasts 16.5 hours of Mandarin and 14 hours of Cantonese programming each week.

PAKISTANI PRISONER RECEIVES ‘PERSECUTION AWARD’ WHILE STILL IN JAIL

After spending eight years in prison on charges of "blasphemy," Pakistani Christian Ranjha Masih received a "religious persecution award" from the International Society for Human Rights (IGFM). Masih is serving a life sentence in Pakistani prison for charges that he damaged a sign that contained verses from the Koran in 1998. The award recognized Masih’s "steadfastness in maintaining his Christian beliefs" and awarded him the equivalent of US$629. IGFM hopes the money will help his family’s morale and financial situation while "improving Ranjha’s fate through greater publicity." Masih’s initial trial took five years, and he is yet to receive a hearing after filing an appeal three years ago. Although lawyers hope for an acquittal in High Court before the end of the year, Masih’s release would put him and his family in severe danger in Pakistan where at least 23 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered since the controversial law was enacted. (Compass Direct)

MALAYSIAN COURTS DEBATE LAWS FOR MUSLIM APOSTATES

Malaysia’s treatment of those renouncing their Muslim faith is prompting debate in one of the worlds most modern and relaxed Muslim countries. Federal courts will soon rule on whether Islamic courts, which rule over the Muslim population that makes up more than 60 percent of Malaysia’s population, also have the right to judge apostates who have left Islam. Some call for the death penalty for those leaving Islam. Malaysia’s civil courts say they cannot recognize conversions from Islam and refer apostates to the Islamic courts, where sentences for various offenses range from caning to jail. Currently, local officials, who range from strict to relaxed about enforcement, selectively enforce Islamic law. Some states allow dance clubs where men and women mingle openly while others require gender-segregated supermarket lines. "Apostasy is not a new phenomenon, but the issue has come to the forefront because it underscores the growing Islamization of a country that was intended to be secular," said civil activist Haris Mohamed Ibrahim. (WorldWide Religious News/Reuters)

OVER HALF OF WORLD’S CHILD LABORERS ARE INDIA’S ‘UNTOUCHABLES’

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that out of 246 million child laborers worldwide, 127.3 million are in the Asia Pacific region. The International Labor Organization reports lower numbers but still list around 122 million Asian children laborers. Gospel for Asia’s President K.P.Yohannan believes their poverty is often a result of their society, which has labeled them as Dalits or "untouchables." "The majority of these child laborers in Asia come from Dalit families," he said. "The Hindu religion tells them they are worth less than animals, and they are treated as such." Nearly 300 million Dalits in India live on the fringes of society without access to basic human rights like education and freedom of religion. Their children are often forced to work in toxic and dangerous job environments. (Gospel for Asia)

* Radio programs in 17 languages air to India from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. The programs are produced primarily at the ministry’s studios in New Delhi, India.

FORMER IRAQI GENERAL REPORTS VIBRANT CHRISTIAN GROWTH IN IRAQ

Retired Iraqi Gen. Georges Sada reports more Iraqi Muslims becoming Christians than at any other time in the history of the country. Speaking at both a private dinner outside Washington, D.C., and at McLean Bible Church in northern Virginia on Monday, May 22, Sada shared stories about Saddam Hussein moving weapons of mass destruction to Syria in 2002, his personal refusal to execute U.S. and British prisoners of the first Gulf War, and stories of what God is doing today in Iraq. Bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg had met Sada previously while researching a book and instigated his speaking engagements. Rosenberg said, "Sada told me that some 5,000 Iraqis have publicly identified themselves as new followers of Christ since Iraq was liberated, and that an estimated eight out of 10 Iraqi believers say they converted because Jesus appeared to them in dreams or visions." Sada reported that the Kurds in northern Iraq are particularly receptive to Christ and are converting "by the hundreds." (Evangelical News/Assist News Service)

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