China
Population: 1 345 751 000
Concerns
Religious freedom
The Government restricts lawful religious practice
largely to government-sanctioned organizations and
registered places of worship and attempts to control the
growth and scope of activities of both registered and
unregistered religious groups. The Government tries to
prevent the rise of religious groups that could constitute
sources of authority outside of the control of the
Government and the Chinese Communist Party. On the
Persecution Index, China is 2nd in the world, following
Sudan. The government's restrictions on religious
literature do not conform to international human rights
standards. Cai Zhuohua, a house church pastor in
Beijing, and two of his family members were
imprisoned in 2005 for printing and giving away Bibles
and other Christian literature. In Anhui province, house
church pastor Wang Zaiqing was arrested in May 2006
on the same charges.
Freedom of the press
According to the New York City-based Committee to
Protect Journalists, China has the highest number of
imprisoned journalists (42) of any country in the world.
The government blocks the Web sites and radio and
television broadcasts of foreign news organizations, such
as those of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio
Free Asia, and the Voice of America. Most major blog
services are blocked, including Blogspot and Wordpress.
Just recenty, also Facebook was blocked.
Suggested prayer topics
• Pray for all those who are persecuted because
of their faith in China
• Pray for religious freedom in China
• Pray for the freedom of speech and the
freedom of press
• Pray for courage to those with important
insights and messages, that they don’t refrain
from speaking up because of fear of the
government.
• Pray for the journalists that are kept in
prison, that they have strength and integrity
to endure the injustice.
• Pray for the political leaders China, that they
may reign wisely for the benefit of their
country and for the world
• Pray for the advancement of justice and
selfless love and in China
Life expectancy: 73.5 years
Fertility rate: 1.79 children/woman
School life expectancy: 11 years
Religion: Atheist (50%), Taoist (29%), Buddhist (8.4%), Christian
(7.3%), Other (5.3%)
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest
of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines,
military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the
Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist
system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict
controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of
people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other
leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by
2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living
standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal
choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1978,
China has become one of the world's fastest growing economies and
the world's second largest exporter and the third largest importer of
goods. Rapid industrialization has reduced its poverty rate from 53%
in 1981 to 8% in 2001.
Head of Government:
President Hu Jintao
Hu's rise to the presidency
represents China's transition of
leadership from old, establishment
Communists to younger, more
pragmatic technocrats. Since his
ascendancy, Hu has reinstated
certain controls on the economy
loosened by the previous
administration, and has been largely
conservative with political reforms.
In foreign policy, Hu advocates for
an approach termed "China's
peaceful development," pursuing
soft power in international relations. Through Hu's tenure China's
global influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing
countries has increased.
Hu was a talented student in high school, excelling in activities such as
singing and dancing. In 1964, while still a student at Beijing's
Tsinghua University, Hu joined the Communist Party of China. He
graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1965. Hu
volunteered for service in Gansu and worked on the construction of
Liujiaxia Hydro-power Station while also managing Party affairs for
the local branch of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric
Power. He also worked as an engineer from 1969 to 1974. Hu has been
noted for his liking for table tennis and ballroom dancing. He is also
said to possess a photographic memory.