Hundreds of protesters marched on Chinese embassies in several
European countries to mark the sixth anniversary of a
bloody crackdown by Chinese authorities in the prefecture of
Gulja, or Yili, in the northwestern Moslem region of Xinjiang.
Shouting “Chinese out of our country” and “Freedom for
Uyghurs,” protesters converged on Chinese diplomatic missions
in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands to commemorate the
crackdown, in which anti-Beijing protesters—some of whom
were calling for the release of political prisoners—were gunned
down by security forces.
“One of the events I shall never forget happened in front of the
government building in Yili on March 12, 1997,” Erkin Alip
Tekin, a spokesman for Uyghur protesters in the Netherlands,
said. “An eight-year-old girl who was standing in front of the
building to ask the government to release her arrested father,
and a pregnant woman named Gulzighre who was also standing
in front of the same government building, were shot dead.”
Tekin called on Beijing to implement UN conventions on civil,
economic, and political rights in Xinjiang, whose population is
about half Uyghur. Uyghur activists cite a consistent program
of Han migration and settlement in the area, along with economic
discrimination against and political persecution of those
who call for independence from China.
In Germany, other protesters echoed his sentiments. “We, the
Uyghurs, young and old, are gathered today to demand equal
human rights for Uyghur people as enjoyed by the people of
the world,” one man told RFA at a protest in Munich.
In the Netherlands, Turkish students—whose language and culture
are closely related to those of the Uyghurs—joined the
demonstrations. Some Turkish protesters carried the blue crescent
and star flag of East Turkestan, a Uyghur state that existed
briefly before the establishment of the People’s Republic of
China in 1949.
The East Turkestan Information Center, one of a group of overseas
organizations lobbying for the creation of a Uyghur state,
estimates that nine people were killed and more than 200
injured in the Yili border town of Yining in February 1997,
after a pro-independence demonstration turned into a riot.
That incident, along with a series of bus bombs that killed nine
people three weeks later in the regional capital of Urumqi,
prompted police to crack down on separatist activity. Amnesty
International has said at least 190 ethnic Uyghurs were executed
between 1997-99.

Copyright © 1999, RFA. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. http://www.rfa.org.

8:11:22 PM    pray []

N. Korean youth reads from own memoirs -RFA

Jang Gil-su, the teenaged defector whose grim drawings of life in NorthKorea have made him an international celebrity, has begun reading excerpts from his own memoirs for a series of RFA broadcasts to North Korea.

In his first broadcast, Jang, now 19, described his return from China to North Korea in 1999 in a bid to bring family members to safety across the border. "‘How often do you visit China?’ one of two North Korean officers asked. ‘When did you go there? Did you eat rice and pork?’

I told them I had never visited China—that we were out scavenging for food. ‘Why are your clothes wet?’ they asked. I said we were trying to catch fish. Then they punched us and called us liars. We were led to the border security office... The police approached me like wolves.

They will all get promotions, I thought, for capturing more escapees."

Jang’s memoir, roughly translated as The Rainbow I Painted With My Tears: A refugee boy’s story in his own words and drawings,was published by Moonhak Soochop (Seoul). It remains available only in Korean and has never been broadcast previously. Jang’s readings for RFA’s Korean service were expected to continue for approximately one month.

Jang, who fled North Korea in 1999 at age 15, becamefamous in South Korea following publication of his chillingcrayon drawings, which depict horrific abuses byNorth Korean authorities against North Korean civilians.

His family, living in Hoeryeong, North HamgyeongProvince, crossed the Tumen River into China in January 1999. They lived briefly in China with the help of ethnic Koreans and South Korean human rights activists. Somewere caught and repatriated as part of a Chinese crackdown on North Korean refugees.

Risking arrest and execution, Jang returned to North Korea twice to try to smuggle out more of his relatives.

In June 2001, Jang and six relatives were granted asylum at the UNHCR office in Beijing, while three more relatives traveled to Seoul through third countries.

Jang’s mother, Chung Sun-mi, was caught by Chinese police and sent back to North Korea in March 2000.

Relatives say she was handed over to the State Security Agency, which is known to impose harsh punishments.

Copyright © 1999, RFA. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036

http://www.rfa.org.

7:43:34 PM    pray []

John 3:16

3:11:33 PM    pray []

News for Christians who love China

2:42:24 PM    pray []

Prayer Request for Today from Pray For China

Esther Mok went to Hong Kong, came down with SARS, and infected 118 people. Her church people came to visit her often. Her parents and pastor all have died. She has since recovered and is labeled as the "Super Spreader". Christianity in this island country is strong and mission minded. Praise the Lord. Let us remember this devastated church in Singapore. We too pray for the effort for the Chinese churches to reach the Malay population.

11:43:56 AM    pray []

The Bai are primarily rice farmers living in a region from the upper Yangtze River down to the foot of Lake Erh Hai. They make their homes high in the mountains where they are surrounded by beautiful alpine lakes and emerald green valleys. This area is a favorite retreat spot for Communist commanders because of its temperate climate, beauty, and solitude.

The name "Bai" means "white" in Chinese, and was first used to refer to those living near the southwestern border region. The Baimen, or "white men," were called this because of the white sheepskins they wore. They refer to themselves as the "Bozi," "Baihu," or "Baizi."

What are their lives like?
The Bai are a family-oriented people and are related to the Chinese Yi. Their families are small, and most members of the group are farmers, fishermen, and hunters. Their diet consists mainly of rice, vegetables, fruit, fish, and grains. Bai villages are usually located on the poorer land near lakes or on lower mountain slopes. This frees as much land as possible for rice cultivation. Their small homes are usually built without the conveniences of indoor plumbing.

To the Bai, the village is the most important social unit outside of the extended family. Marriages are usually monogamous (one husband, one wife), and, unlike many other Chinese tribes, the Bai value girls as much as boys. Traditionally, men and women did the same type of work in the fields, except that the heavier plowing was left for the men. Still, Bai women are known for their strength and ability to carry heavy loads great distances.

China's economy has undergone many changes since the late 1970's. For example, free markets for food items and homemade goods have been reopened. Consequently, the standard of living in inner China has greatly improved. However, since most Chinese minority groups (including the Bai) live in remote areas, improvements in their lifestyles have been few.

What are their beliefs?
There is very little difference between the Bai's form of religion and traditional Chinese customs. Their religious practices embrace ideas from Buddhism, Taoism, and "ancestral worship" (praying to deceased ancestors for help and guidance).

Formerly, the Bai held special ceremonies in which they honored their family ancestors; but whether or not they still hold such rituals is not known.

The Bai generally hold the Buddhists' views of life after death. Buddhism teaches that right thinking, ritual sacrifices, and self-denial will enable the soul to reach nirvana (a state of eternal bliss) at death. They live in fear of their gods and constantly strive to appease them with religious chants, rituals, and sacrifices. When a person is sick, a Buddhist priest is often called; however, spiritual matters are usually handled by the head of the family.

What are their needs?
For more than 1,000 years the Bai were free from Chinese rule; however, in the 13th century their freedom was cut short. At that time, Chinese Imperial troops murdered the Bai nobility and annexed their territory to China. After the 1949 revolution, prejudices against ethnic minorities increased, and the Han (ethnic Chinese) tried to stamp out the Bai. Since the 1960's, their traditions, language, and culture have steadily eroded.

Currently the Bai are being absorbed into the communist Chinese world - a world without God. No Bai pastors or churches exist. Their language, Pai, is unwritten, so there is no Bible in their language at this time. Although many underground home churches do exist in China, there is no way to train the pastors and teachers.

Prayer Points

• Take authority over spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Bai bound.
• Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to share Christ with the Bai.
• Pray that the doors of China will soon be opened to missionaries.
• Ask God to give missions agencies creative ways to train Bai Christians as pastors and teachers.
• Pray for the underground home churches in China.
• Ask God to strengthen and encourage the small number of believers who live among the Bai.
• Pray that the Holy Spirit will heal the wounds that prejudice has inflicted on the Bai.
• Ask God to raise up qualified linguists to devise a written script for the Bai so that the Bible can be translated into their language.
• Pray for God to raise up a strong local church among the Bai by the year 2000.

THE PEOPLE

• People name: Bai
• Country: China
• Their language: pai
• Population: (1990) 1,596,800
  (1995) 1,688,000
  (2000) 1,775,700
• Largest religion: Ethnic Religionists 65%, Buddhists 30%
• Christians: 4.5%
• Church members: 75,961
• Scriptures in their own language: None
• Jesus Film in their own language: None
• Christian broadcasts in their own language: None
• Mission agencies working among this people: 7
• Persons who have heard the Gospel: 498,000 (29%) Those evangelized by local Christians: 177,200 (10%)
  Those evangelized from the outside: 320,800 (19%
• Persons who have never heard the Gospel: 1,190,000 (70%)

• Country: China
• Population: (1990)1,135,043,000
  (1995)1,199,901,200
  (2000)1,262,195,800
• Major peoples in size order: Han Chinese (Mandarin) 67.7%
  Han Chinese (Wu) 7.5%
  Han Chinese (Cantonese) 4.5%
  Han Chinese (Hunanese) 3.5%
• Major religions: Nonreligious 55%
  Chinese Folk Religionist 17%
  Atheist 12.7%
  Christian 7.5%
  Buddhist 5.3%
  Muslim 2.4%
• Number of denominations: 42

11:18:47 AM    pray []