“Race with perseverance and fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Lord of faith.”
[Nov.08.2022] Protestant pastors in Hong Kong are being sentenced to prison terms for sedition under the National Security Law, the US Christian Post reported. On January 4, Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi of the West Kowloon Court sentenced Pastor Hang-tung Chow to 10 months in prison and 3 months in prison on charges of sedition and seditious speech.
However, when Pastor Gary Pang Moon-Yeon (59), who attended Chew Hang-tung’s hearing, said, “You lost your conscience,” to the judge who gave the guilty verdict, magistrate Cheng Lim-chi sentenced Pastor Pang to prison, saying, “You insulted the judge, which does not constitute a slip of the tongue.”
In one of his videos, Pastor Pang criticized magistrate Chen for “threatening to silence” people when attendees who clapped during that trial were requested to leave.
The pastor warned at his trial last month that “What’s going on in the court right now is not only a legal battle over sedition charge but also a battle to defend human rights and freedoms, a battle of safeguarding conscience.” He added that people’s desire to change the legal system should not lead to a conviction for sedition, otherwise the city’s rule of law would crumble.
While Pang’s case might have been widely spread and discussed online before the National Security Law, now there is little discussion about him,” ICC said.
Many churches in Hong Kong have emigrated to the UK due to Chinese religious oppression, and they are experiencing explosive growth in the UK, where the Christian population is declining.
Meanwhile, the remaining believers in Hong Kong are being detained by the Communist Party or experiencing a shortage of Bibles, but the number of people participating in worship is increasing.
According to the January 2022 issue of ‘China to the Lord’, a webzine published by Chinese Moon Mission, a missionary organization specializing in China, the number of worship service attendees is 154,848 since May 2021, 131,604 from June 2020, a year ago, increased by about 4%. In addition, more than half (57.4%) of the members said they would not emigrate but protect the Hong Kong church. (Source: Comprehensive Gospel Prayer News).
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
God, may Your protection be upon the Hong Kong believers whose freedom of religion is being violated under the control of the law. May You help them run the race of faith with perseverance without losing courage in the face of persecution. May they fix their eyes on Jesus, the perfector of their faith, that they will overcome the present hardship through the power of the cross and preach the gospel when they have the opportunity. May Your presence be upon the church in Hong Kong and make it a community that rests in faith in You, the true ruler of this land.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
