Page 7 - Voice of the Persecuted Christians - Oct-Dec 2022 - 120

Christians are widely represented among the lawyers who are paying
a heavy price for representing those accused of ‘state subversion’ – a catch-all charge used to target anyone the authorities believe is challenging the state’s authority such as church leaders.
As other prisoners sang communist songs to ‘re-educate’ them under
the watchful attention of the guards, Ovalbek took the opportunity to worship Jesus, reciting the psalm
out loud and singing ‘Hallelujah!’. At shower time he used the noise of the water to drown out his voice from the microphones so that he could share the gospel with the inmates beside him.
‘Being in the camp strengthened my faith,’ he told Release. ‘I was there
for ten months and then eight months under house arrest. After that eight months we finished the food but then God made a way for us to leave the country.’
Two weeks after being warned that he would be forcibly disappeared Chen and his family were able to escape China by fleeing to Myanmar.
He testifies to the presence of God throughout his detention in 2018, despite torture and being kept under constant surveillance. Cameras on walls allowed guards constantly to monitor the prisoners. ‘I did not feel alone; I knew God was with me. I did not suffer the same ill-effects on my health as badly as other prisoners.’
He added: ‘God never forsook me;
He was with me throughout it all.
I am grateful to China Aid, Release International’s partner, for helping me and my family to get out.’
Similarly accused was Peter Li, a former judge who ended up in prison for 14 years simply for trying to help provide justice for the poor.
Ovalbek, like his cellmates, was forcibly injected with various treatments purportedly vaccines but which caused debilitating side- effects such as pain in their ears, hands and feet, and trouble walking.
After being granted ‘humanitarian status’ by the US, Ovalbek, who holds no bitterness or unforgiveness towards the Chinese authorities, described
his experiences in the camp at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington DC in June.
Peter was brought up in a Christian family but it was only while in prison that his faith took on a greater depth
A Christian lawyer who has suffered the wrath of the Chinese state for his
and he was instrumental in leading some 50 prisoners to faith in Christ. Among them was an underworld gang boss who became a close friend.
He was also tied into the ‘tiger chair’, a piece of steel furniture used to punish prisoners, so-called because if they moved the restraints would tighten up or ‘bite back’.
In Chinese prisons all religious materials are allowed except for Bibles, so the scriptures are treasured by believers and kept away from the eyes of the guards.
Amazingly, although the other prisoners were allowed only one
During his time behind bars Peter saved up enough money to bribe
a worker who was able to source
a Bible for him. The book became treasured by the Christian prisoners and had to be hidden.
‘God never forsook me; He was with me throughout it all’
‘One day,’ said Peter, ‘the guards found our Bible and tried to take it from
us but my close friend, the former gangster, refused to hand it over. They then beat him to death.’
20-minute visit from family a month, Ovalbek was granted two-hour visits every week!
Peter showed me a photograph of the man’s battered corpse. ‘He would not let the Bible go,’ he said, ‘and paid for it with his life.’
‘My family were also allowed to bring in meals for me whereas normally you weren’t allowed to bring in even a sunflower seed. God turned the impossible to the possible. These were things I had heard about before but now I experienced them for myself.’
As with the lawyer Chen, Psalm 23 is also the treasured scripture of ethnic Kyrgyz Christian Ovalbek Turdakun, who spent ten months in a Chinese concentration camp in Xinjiang province.
Not only that but contrary to all known practice the Government actually supplied his family (wife Zhyldyz and son Daniyel) with food during the time that he was in prison. When Joseph returned home he was overwhelmed to see all the supplies that had been provided by both relatives and officials. It was a miracle and an answer to prayer. Ovalbek, like other prisoners, had feared that his family would starve because there is no support for the families of those who are put in state camps.
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