This year, China was reviewed at the UN Human Rights Council, in a process known as a Universal Periodic Review (UPR). It received 428 recommendations from other countries on how to improve situation of human rights in China, including recommendations to comply with international standards for freedom of religion or belief.

However, the Chinese government rejected a concerning number of recommendations. They claimed that they were based on ‘false information’ or had already been implemented.

We know that this is not the case. Hundreds of thousands of people continue to face harassment, intrusive surveillance, arrest, imprisonment, arbitrary detention and even torture on account of their religion or belief.

Find out more at csw.org.uk/china

Sunday 1 December

At the UN in July, we called on China to stop misleading the international community by claiming to have ‘already implemented’ certain recommendations. Pray that the international community will not be misled by lies, but will increase pressure on the Chinese government to change.

Monday 2 December

Next Monday is the sixth anniversary of the crackdown on Early Rain Covenant Church, Chengdu. Its leaders and members continue to be subjected to power cuts, threatening phone calls, stalking, and the stationing of police outside their homes – all to deter them from practising their religion. Ask God to guard them, especially around this anniversary.

Tuesday 3 December

Pastor Wang Yi, a leader of Early Rain Covenant Church, was one of those detained on 9 December 2018. Use our Connect & Encourage resource to write to him in prison: csw.org.uk/ConnectEncourage

Wednesday 4 December

Pray for the immediate, unconditional release of Zhang Chunlei, an elder of Love (Ren’ai) Reformed Church in Guiyang. This summer, Elder Zhang was handed a five-year sentence, having been detained for over three and a half years already. Read more on p.26 of Response.

Thursday 5 December

Cry out for transformation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Over one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and members of other ethnic groups have been detained without charge in ‘re-education camps’ since 2017.

Friday 6 December

Ikram Nurmehmet is a 32-year-old Uyghur filmmaker. In January 2024 he was sentenced to over six years in prison. During the October 2023 trial, Ikram told the court he was tortured into confessing crimes he didn’t commit. Pray for his freedom today.

Saturday 7 December

Human rights lawyer Chang Weiping was released in July, having completed his unjust prison sentence. According to reports, he has been stripped of his lawyer’s license and is under a travel ban. Pray that this will be lifted so that he can be reunited with his wife and son in the United States.

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