China: 'Much persecution of Christians in China today, quite apart from Communism, has its roots in a disastrous 19th Century history that left the Chinese very suspicious and fearful of any foreign influence and Christianity. Chinese Christians are still paying the price. Any Christianity that is not controlled by China's Communist government is banned as being seditious. Pastor Gong Shengliang (50), senior pastor of the 50,000-strong South China Church (house-church network), is serving a life sentence and has already come close to death. Also imprisoned and severely at risk is well-known house-church patriarch Pastor Zhang Rongliang, leader of the 10 million-strong China for Christ house-church network. The call of the famous British missionary Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) to pray for China is as relevant today as ever.' (Religious Liberty Commission)