Jailed Chinese Pastor’s U.S. Family Seeks Mercy
The Associated Press’s Yanan Wang writes that the Rev. John Sanqiang Cao was sentenced last month to seven years in prison by the Chinese government. Cao, whose family resides in the U.S., was arrested in March 2017 after decades of work organizing “house” churches and Bible schools not sanctioned by the Chinese state. The pastor’s son, Ben Cao, said, “Nothing my father organized was ever political. It was always just religious or charitable.” Wang adds, “Analysts say the government increasingly views Christianity’s rise in China as a threat to its rule, and may be using prominent figures such as Cao as an example to intimidate nascent movements.”