Christians are disappearing for worshipping a God other than Xi

Christians are disappearing for worshipping a God other than Xi

Allegra Mendelson

When the power cut out and his signal dropped, TJ knew something was wrong.

Seconds later, the banging started on his front door. Terrified, he stood as still as possible with his wife and three-year-old daughter, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed.

But the Chinese police officers broke down the door, shoved his wife and child into a separate room and began to question TJ. 

“They grabbed my clothes and grabbed my hands so I couldn’t move. I could hear my daughter crying so much in the room next door but I couldn’t go to her, I couldn’t hug my wife,” he told The Telegraph.

TJ knew what his family’s crime was: being Christian and worshipping a God that was not Xi Jinping. In China, following a church that is not state-controlled is punishable.

The Chinese leader is intensifying Beijing’s crackdown on Christians amid a wider purge of top officials, showing signs of an increasingly paranoid leader.

The country officially recognises five religions, including Protestantism and Catholicism, but this only extends to churches that are fully state-controlled, where congregation is expected to sing patriotic songs before every service and affix Mr Xi’s portrait above the pulpit.

Many Christians such as TJ, who withheld his full name for security reasons, and his wife have chosen to join unofficial churches – or underground churches – where they can preach the gospel away from the government’s oversight.

But attending these places of worship carries its own risks – not least because they are seen as traitors.

TJ last saw his wife when she was taken to a police station along with their phones, some books and artwork, and she has yet to be released. He still doesn’t understand why he was not taken too.

Under Mr Xi’s iron-tight grip, China has expanded its nationwide suppression of Christians during the last decade, arresting more than 10,000 people, according to Bob Fu, the founder of ChinaAid, a charity for victims of persecution in the country.

In the most recent crackdown, armed police stormed the Early Rain Covenant, an influential underground church, and detained more than 30 members last month.

Mr Xi’s ruthless campaign against these underground churches aims to ensure the survival of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and remove any threat to his power.

Mr Fu said: “It’s the emperor playing God. [Mr Xi] wants to be exclusive, he doesn’t want to have anything treated or worshipped more superior than him.”

TJ is one of six Chinese Christians who spoke to The Telegraph who have either been directly targeted by the CCP or have close relatives that are incarcerated.

They described police officers showing up at their homes unannounced in the middle of the night. Friends being rounded up and questioned by authorities, sometimes for weeks on end. Loved ones being convicted on trumped-up charges such as “using superstition to undermine the law” and detained indefinitely in crammed, dirty cells. And lawyers were targeted and suspended from practising law for defending Christians.

Jun Yang, a pastor with Zion Church, one of the largest underground churches in China, knows all too well about the risk of living as a Christian in China.

Nearly 30 members of his church, including Qu Qiuyu, his wife, and Ezra Jin Mingri, the church’s leader, were detained in October last year during one of the largest raids against Christians in recent years.

Mr Jin was released in early July, but many of those detained remain in prison.

Founded in 2007, Zion Church used to operate in a converted nightclub in Beijing but was forced to move to a decentralised, hybrid format 10 years later after the mass arrests of Christians across the underground church network and restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic forced many of the church’s sessions online.

The church’s membership has grown from 1,500 in 2018 to around 5,000 followers now, since the church adopted the hybrid format.

Mr Yang and other Zion Church members who spoke to The Telegraph said the arrests in October were not a complete surprise. Police had been harassing church members for months before the arrests and had been coming up with incriminating information about the church leaders.

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Iran attacks Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar with drones and missiles after US strikes

Iran attacks Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar with drones and missiles after US strikes

AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

Iran fired missiles and drones at Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar early Sunday in response to widespread American strikes, as a flare-up with the US continued to erode a ceasefire agreement between the two foes.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had destroyed a command and control center and drone hangars in US ally Jordan, targeted a US radar site in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and destroyed a jet maintenance center and command facility in Qatar, the first strikes on the key mediator since April.

Iran has so far not made good on its Friday threat to target Israel as well if American strikes persist.

“Three missiles fired from Iranian territory fell at dawn in several locations across the kingdom, without causing any casualties. The damage is limited to minor material losses,” said a Jordanian military source quoted in an army statement.

Kuwait’s armed forces said they intercepted hostile aerial targets inside Kuwaiti airspace, while Qatar’s government said three people, including a child, were injured by falling shrapnel from the attack on that country.

The United Arab Emirates said its defense systems engaged missiles and drones from Iran. However, the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority later said that missile threats detected earlier in the day were outside the country’s borders.

Sites in Oman’s Musandam region were targeted with drones, its state news agency reported, without saying whether there had been any casualties.

A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led US President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X on Sunday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs,” vowing to protect the vital waterway.

“This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will protect it,” Mohsen Rezaee was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to create an atomic bomb, but Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.

Tehran’s latest strikes marked a sharp escalation in pace and targets. In recent weeks, Iran had hit Kuwait and Bahrain while avoiding Qatar since early April and the UAE since early May.

“Qatar condemns in the strongest possible terms the renewed attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, also referring to the targeting of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait and calling the barrages a “dangerous escalation.”

The attack on Qatar targeted a state whose mediation efforts have been central to attempts to broker a ceasefire between the US and Iran. Doha has previously said it would not act as a mediator so long as it was under attack.

Oman, another mediator, was also not spared.

The Oman News Agency said on X that “the Sultanate of Oman affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack,” which came just hours after the country hosted Iran’s foreign minister to address security issues in the Strait of Hormuz.

The war has destabilized the Gulf, while Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has caused energy prices to surge, fueling global inflation.

Third wave of strikes: US hits 140 Iranian military targets

Third wave of strikes: US hits 140 Iranian military targets

Israel National News

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces launched a third round of strikes against Iran early Sunday morning, following an attack by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a CENTCOM statement, "US forces hit approximately 140 Iranian military targets with precision munitions launched by land- and sea-based fighter aircraft, drones, and naval vessels. Targets included Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations."

"During three nights of strikes this week, CENTCOM has struck more than 300 targets at the direction of the Commander in Chief to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait. Commercial vessel transits through the vital international maritime corridor continue," it added.

"Since early May, US forces have helped facilitate the successful transit of more than 800 commercial vessels and 400 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz."

An initial statement from CENTCOM, as the strikes began, said, “At 7:15 p.m. ET today, US Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM stated.

“A civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engine-room damage."

CENTCOM added: “Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels, but has again failed."

“In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait."

“The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief," the statement concluded.

A senior US official told Channel 12 News that the targeted sites include air-surveillance radars, missile and drone storage facilities, missile and drone launch sites, maritime-surveillance radars, and surface-to-air missile launchers.

The Strongest El Niño In 75 Years Could Trigger A Global Food Crisis

The Strongest El Niño In 75 Years Could Trigger A Global Food Crisis

 PNW STAFF

For most people, El Niño sounds like just another weather event. Meteorologists talk about warmer ocean temperatures, shifting wind patterns, and changing rainfall, while the rest of us assume it is simply another season of unusual weather.

But this time is different.

The latest forecasts from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center suggest the current El Niño could become one of the strongest recorded in the last 75 years. While no single weather event guarantees disaster, history shows that powerful El Niño cycles have repeatedly triggered droughts, floods, crop failures, livestock losses, and soaring food prices across multiple continents at the same time.

That should concern every family--not because panic is warranted, but because our modern food system is far more fragile than most people realize.

For decades we've been told globalization made everything more efficient. It certainly did. The problem is that efficiency often came at the expense of resilience.

Today, many of the world's most important food supplies are concentrated in surprisingly few locations.

Three countries dominate the export market for many staple crops including corn, soybeans, rice, sugar, and palm oil. That works wonderfully during good years. But when one of those regions experiences drought, flooding, or severe storms, the entire world feels the consequences.

It's the agricultural version of putting all your eggs in one basket.

Now imagine several baskets getting hit simultaneously.

That is exactly why economists are paying such close attention to this developing El Niño.

Goldman Sachs analysts recently warned that modern agricultural markets have become increasingly vulnerable because weather disruptions no longer remain local problems. Governments often react by restricting exports to protect their own populations, importers begin stockpiling supplies, and suddenly a modest production shortfall snowballs into a global price shock.

This developing El Niño arrives at perhaps the worst possible time.

Global fertilizer markets remain vulnerable to geopolitical instability. Shipping lanes through the Middle East continue to face uncertainty. Energy prices influence fertilizer production, transportation costs, and irrigation expenses. Many countries are also expanding biofuel mandates that divert crops like corn, sugar, and vegetable oils away from food production and toward fuel.

Every one of these factors individually raises costs.

Together they create the perfect environment for food inflation.

Many Americans assume our grocery stores insulate us from these global problems.

That assumption deserves reconsideration.

The average supermarket carries only a limited inventory. Modern supply chains operate on "just-in-time" logistics designed to minimize storage costs rather than maximize emergency reserves. If multiple disruptions occur simultaneously, shortages can develop surprisingly quickly.

We've already seen glimpses of this over the past several years.

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New Zealand: Any method to ban under-16s from social media will drift into digital IDs for everyone

New Zealand: Any method to ban under-16s from social media will drift into digital IDs for everyone

Rhoda Wilson

The proposed under-16 social media ban is being sold as child protection. That is the attractive part of the policy. Most parents know smartphones and social media can be harmful, addictive and corrosive for young people. But the political danger is that a policy aimed at children may become a system of online control for everyone.

The Post initially reported that the government was considering a VPN ban or restrictions as part of the policy work.  National’s Education Minister Erica Stanford has since said she is not pursuing VPN restrictions, after ACT made clear it would block any such move.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It encrypts a user’s internet connection and can make their device appear to be accessing the internet from another location.

ACT leader David Seymour took to X to say that “the government” is not pursuing such a thing. He said National MPs had been keen on a VPN ban at select committee, while Stanford has been developing proposals to ban under-16s from social media.

But the question remains how the government plans to enforce an under-16 social media ban without pushing adults toward online age checks, identity verification or other forms of digital access control.

While the government may not have adopted a VPN ban, the episode shows how quickly a child-safety policy can raise wider questions about privacy, enforcement and state control of the internet.

The Prime Minister previously announced that social media restrictions for under-16s would become part of the government’s work programme, with Stanford assigned to lead the work and bring options to Cabinet.

Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee has also recommended age restrictions for social media platforms and further work on restricting social media access for under-16s.

The deeper problem with Stanford’s approach is that it treats family discipline as a problem for the state to solve, even though most parents already have the power to restrict social media use at the device level.

Apple’s Screen Time allows parents to set age-related restrictions for content, purchases, downloads, privacy settings, inappropriate web content and app access. Parents can also prevent children from installing or deleting apps or making App Store purchases.

Google’s Family Link lets parents block apps, set individual app time limits, require approval for new apps, block inappropriate sites and manage settings across Chrome, Google Play, YouTube and Search.

Samsung directs Galaxy users to parental controls and Google Family Link, which include the ability to block apps, lock devices, restrict content and set screen-time limits.

TikTok also has Family Pairing, allowing caregivers to manage screen time, safety settings and content controls for teenage accounts.

These tools are not perfect. But neither is legislation.

This Is Really About Digital ID

Perhaps the better approach is to make parental controls easier to use. Require device makers and platforms to make them visible at setup. Educate parents. Improve default settings for young users.

New Zealand already has a Digital Identity Services Trust Framework, which is the legal framework for accredited digital identity services. The Govt.nz app also now includes a digital wallet intended to hold credentials such as licences, IDs and qualifications as they become available.

Centrist has previously reported that digital driver licences became a government priority despite little evidence of public demand, and that a licence on a phone is only one part of a wider credential system linked to the app, NZ Verify and digital proof of age.

The government says these systems are about convenience and trust. The risk is function creep. A digital wallet that begins as a voluntary way to access services can become much less voluntary if private platforms are pressured to verify age at scale.

The burden should be on Stanford to explain why existing parental controls are not enough before the country is pushed toward broader online verification.