Prisoner of the Day No. 1

For the week or so, you might might want to tune into the blog with a bit more frequency than usual. For every one of the remaining days in the Olympic Games (there are 10), I will post a quick notification about someone who has recently been arrested by the Chinese government. They include practitioners of religion (even "state-approved"), to political dissidents, to anyone who speaks against anything the government does. The net is spread wider and wider every month. I ask you, dear reader, to do the following to the best of your ability:

1) If you are a Christian, pray for them.
2) Become informed about the state of human rights in this country.
3) Pass on the truth to everyone you know.

Prisoner of the Day No. 1

Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band. Thanks to Pastor Bike’s inspiration and the commitment of concerned Christians across the United States, more than 800,000 prayer bands have been circulated.

On Aug. 6, Pastor Bike was arrested while trying to deliver medicine to his ailing wife. His wife and another pastor were also arrested. The organization "Voice of the Martyrs" has also reported this week that Chinese officials are opening a full investigation of the Olympic Prayer Bands that were distributed to house church members within China. Despite this increased pressure from Chinese authorities, Chinese Christians continue to ask for prayer and to make their plight known. This was Zhang Mingxuan's 12th arrest.

He has asked for his identity to be revealed to bring continued attention to the persecution of Christians in Communist China.

sources: http://chinaaid.org/, http://www.persecution.com/