Control

Posted on 22 January 2010.

"A senior Chinese police official has vowed ‘pre-emptive attacks' against threats to Communist Party control," according to a Reuters report. "Strike hard against hostile forces at home and abroad. Strive to anticipate and prevent, staging pre-emptive attacks," said Vice Minister for Public Security Yang Huanning.

Earlier, Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu had demanded "defter quelling of protests and stricter oversight of the Internet" as he warned that "the nation's security forces are struggling to keep pace with an increasingly assertive society."

Chinese authorities remain very nervous of unrest and continue to crack down on those they see as opponents. In late November, human rights activist Huang Qi was jailed for three years on charges of illegally possessing state secrets. He had been detained in June after offering to help parents protesting about the number of schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. "I think it was revenge for the earthquake and his other work," Huang's wife commented. "But the court would not even give me a copy of the verdict" (Reuters).

A few weeks later, Liu Xiaobo, one of China's most prominent dissidents, was jailed for 11 years. Liu had helped organise a petition calling for sweeping political reforms and was found guilty of "inciting subversion of state power". In court, his lawyers were given just 15 minutes to defend him. Christian activist Yu Jie commented that the authorities see Liu Xiaobo "as a representative figure, and think they can scare the others into silence with such a harsh sentence. If Liu can be sentenced for his writings, then many more of us can also be sentenced" (Reuters).

Access to popular social networking websites such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter remains blocked inside China. In December, distribution of commercial television programmes from Sun TV was banned. "Sun's broadcast rights were revoked because guests called for political reform," according to a media industry source who spoke to Reuters. "The country's censors have become increasingly intolerant of content that pushes the envelope on politically incorrect or sensitive topics," Reuters commented.

Pray for Chinese activists, including a number of Christians, who speak out against injustice, advocate on behalf of the poor and needy, and call for greater freedom of expression. Pray that their words and actions might have a positive effect and make a real difference in practical ways for people across the land.

Pray for those who have been imprisoned for such activities. May they know encouragement and hope, find the Lord in the hard places they are in, and remain determined to stand for the truth. Pray for their speedy release and remember too the families who struggle without them.

Pray for the authorities in China who legislate and make decisions about how best to oversee the country. Pray that they might see that the need to maintain law and order does not necessitate such restrictions on people's freedom of speech.