Monday, November 26, 2007

CHINA: AUTHORITIES TRY TO SHUT DOWN CHRISTIAN WORKPLACE

The Chinese authorities are trying to shut down a large firm in Guangdong province – apparently because it has a Christian ethos and employs church-goers.Guangzhou Enoch Biological Science and Technology, part of an international ecological company, first had its offices and factories raided in August. More than 35 staff were interrogated and some of them beaten. Valuable property including computers was seized.

In September the company’s assets were frozen and its owners, a Christian couple named Daniel and Eliza Ng, were put under house arrest for a fortnight and charged with ‘illegal business management and tax evasion’. Their personal assets have also been frozen.China Aid’s sources suggest that central government is upset that the Enoch Group has hired a large number of Christians. It also suspects that Enoch’s ethos – ‘love, peace, joy and faithfulness’ – promotes Christianity. Mr and Mrs Ng, both Australian citizens, have filed an appeal to Guangdong officials and approached the Australian consulate.

Pray that the full force of the Enoch Group’s international connections can be brought to bear, so that charges against Mr and Mrs Ng are dropped.

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