Hey, Li Qiang,
what do you do in your free time?
Sometimes I go fishing.
That can be complicated!
It's true, there are different baits for different fish.
You're right.
Hey, have you heard of people who act as fish bait?
Human fish bait?
You're kidding me!
Anything is possible with the CCP.
To persecute The Church of Almighty God,
they place eyes everywhere, they cast a long line to catch Christians.
Oh! Tell me,
what's really going on?
The other day I was sharing the gospel at a religious gathering.
Oh, bearing witness to the return of the Lord Jesus!
A pastor comes with a minder and two officers
who kick the door in with a bang.
What? The pastor brought the police?
"Officers,
he believes in Almighty God,
he's the one here to preach at my church!"
The church belongs to God, how could he say it's his?
"Almighty God? Take him away!"
Arrested, just like that?
A group of officers tortured me brutally for two weeks,
trying to force me to give up information on my brothers and sisters.
And then?
Thanks to God's protection I didn't say a word!
Thanks to God!
So just then
a buck-toothed officer in charge comes over and says,
"You're so young,
why go through all this?
How about this,
give up your faith,
and help the government out with some things.
Your problems will be over!
The government will even reward you.
How about it? Think it over."
Tempting you to betray God!
Don't fall for it!
"You …
Fine.
Since this is your first arrest we'll let you go,
but in the future you'd better be at our beck and call!
You hear me?
Go on."
The CCP's policy toward Christians is to "lock up some, do some in."
It is!
But they let you go so easily?
I was confused too,
but at least I could leave that evil place.
So true!
After they let me go
I was on constant alert at all times.
He was afraid the CCP were watching him.
After a while
of not seeing anything,
I thought, I need to find a way to meet with my brothers and sisters.
Yes.
That day I receive a notice from the church.
Finally!
Please go to the Qilitun Restaurant today at 1:30 p.m. (Restaurant?)
Wait at the second bus stop on the left across the street,
someone will meet you.
I figured they'd arrange a gathering for you!
As soon as I think of meeting with my brothers and sisters,
I feel …
Excited!
I get my bag and go downstairs humming a hymn.
You saw something?
The local security guard.
Why be afraid of him?
You don't understand, he just started working here.
He's new.
Right, he was transferred over the day after the police let me go.
Your memory is really clear.
There are particular things about him.
In his 40s, stocky build, really short hair,
and a big black mole on his chin.
That really is distinctive.
He doesn't really like to talk, he just stares at people.
He's a security guard, that is a common quirk!
He stares particularly hard at me.
You're such a worrier.
You shouldn't hold things up.
Oh. Sure.
Going to a gathering I don't feel quite the same.
Of course.
I get on my electric bike, and I'm ready to ride out.
Hey, you're riding a bike!
Look! This security guard downstairs comes out too.
What is it?
I go left, (Oh, left.)
he goes left too.
Then I turn right,
and he turns right too!
He must be going the same way.
Nope. (Huh?)
I've already gone so far but he's still following behind me.
His speed is really steady, he never gets any closer or farther.
He's following you?
No wonder he's always staring at me.
Now he's shown his true colors!
A pair of eyes was put right at the entrance to his home!
I have to lose him!
Yeah, lose him!
I go through the main streets and small alleys,
I go all over the place.
Take a roundabout way!
You wouldn't believe the tenacity he had!
What?
I try that for ages but I couldn't drop him.
So what do you do?
Oh, luckily there is a green light at the intersection ahead.
Hurry up and get through it.
Hey, I take it easy.
I fix my eyes on the green as it starts to blink.
Five, four, three …
I step it up and barely make it through,
look again, and the guard (What?)
is stopped by the red light!
That was a near miss.
When I arrived, I'd already missed them.
It was ruined by that guard!
I have no choice but to go back home.
Too bad!
Live and learn.
Next time I'll have to avoid that guard.
No, that spy.
Right, so how exactly do you plan to avoid him?
Disguising myself!
Oh, dressing up!
That day, I decided to go back to the meeting place, have a look.
Maybe he'll see some brothers or sisters.
I find a company employee uniform,
put on glasses and a cap,
and go downstairs that way.
See that? He didn't even notice me.
Hurry and get out of there!
I leave and before getting very far,
I hear someone shouting:
"Zhou Zhiyong!"
Who is that?
A neighborhood shop owner.
Oh, a shop owner.
"Oh, it really is you!
Hey,
why are you dressed like this? I almost didn't recognize you!"
What did you say?
Oh, uh …
I'm helping my brother-in-law do some deliveries.
Yeah, that's smart.
"Oh. No wonder.
I haven't seen you lately."
She's really nosy!
"Oh, I have a call.
Hey, yes,
he,
he's just leaving.
I'll … I'll hand him over to you guys."
What's going on here?
"Oh, it's nothing.
You go ahead, go ahead!
A cap and a blue courier's uniform."
Why do I get the feeling she's being insincere?
Something's not right.
Whatever, the gathering is important.
I'll go anyway.
Hey, you can't just go like that.
You have to see if anyone's tailing you.
Right!
And?
Two people back there sticking to me like glue.
They are following you!
It's weird, how did they catch up with you?
The phone call!
The shop owner's phone call!
It turns out she was being insincere.
In the future, I have to watch out for her.
What law does having faith break? (Exactly.)
Even a shop owner is watching you.
What kind of world is this?
What kind of world?
In China with an atheist party in power,
they'll charge you with a crime just for believing in God.
The CCP will use every resource to monitor and control Christians!
They claim,
"We will wage a war of the people against religious beliefs."
That's bringing the people to resist God.
People who open supermarkets, sell breakfast snacks, drive taxis,
fix bicycles, are door guards, sweep the streets,
play Mahjong, just chew the fat, collect junk, sell vegetables or meat,
any one of them could be eyes for the CCP.
How can you keep on top of that?
To eliminate religious beliefs
the CCP really is putting spies and surveillance everywhere,
watching, monitoring, secretly following people.
Christians can't be at rest anywhere at all!
That's true!
Having faith in China is beyond difficult.
The whole country is mobilized from top to bottom,
the people are mobilized as spies.
They try everything for their investigations.
They won't stop until they've wiped out all the churches,
fully eliminated them!
Is the CCP sinister or what?
It's like a grinning tiger.
Sinister and evil!
From that day on,
those two followed me everywhere I went.
Really?
I go to the market to buy chives,
they're next to me looking at seaweed.
I go to buy socks,
they're next to me trying on shoes.
I go to the park for Tai Chi, (They're there?)
they're playing Chinese chess.
They stick to me like glue no matter where I go.
The CCP is trying everything to monitor believers.
They're doing an evil job!
With the CCP watching me this way,
I can't see my brothers and sisters or go to gatherings,
much less perform my duty.
I'm feeling very frustrated, very unhappy.
Of course.
I can just silently pray to God in my heart.
Yes, God is our rock.
If we ask, He will open up a way.
I thought of what the Lord Jesus said:
Yes!
The CCP persecutes us here, let's go somewhere else!
Right!
If I go back to my hometown,
they won't travel hundreds of miles to keep an eye on me, right?
What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!
Yeah, I want to go as soon as possible
when they weren't expecting it, and evade their "eyes."
You have to sneak away.
I get to the bus station at 3 a.m.
I don't think they'd be following me at that hour.
But you still have to be careful!
I get to my hometown without a single hitch.
The bird is out of the cage, free!
After that, I think
I need to find some brothers and sisters to attend a gathering as soon as I can.
Right.
The next morning as I'm about to walk out the door,
I see my uncle rushing towards me anxiously.
There's something urgent!
"Hey, Zhiyong, you're really back?
The police just called the village head to have people come keep an eye on you.
You'll be reported the second you go to a gathering.
Be careful! OK?"
Hey, how did he know?
My uncle is the village accountant.
Oh, the accountant.
I was really shocked, you know?
I didn't let anyone know I was coming home.
Yeah.
How did the police know?
Your ID!
You show your ID for a moment when you're buying a bus ticket,
all of your information is scanned in an instant.
When the CCP investigates believers,
they have them in the palm of their hands. (What?)
Old hands.
Thinking of this,
I lose my appetite,
I toss and turn in bed at night, I can't sleep.
He is upset.
Lying in bed, without realizing it I've started to hum a song.
How does it go?
This is all the evil of the CCP!
When I feel the most negative and weak,
God's words enlighten me.
Amen!
God's good will is behind the CCP's persecution.
Yes.
Although I have suffered a bit,
I see the demonic nature of the CCP as an enemy of God more clearly,
and I see my own faith and love for God is lacking.
I must devote myself to pursuing truth so I can be an unwavering witness to God
and can be perfected by Him.
Yes!
No matter how savage Satan is,
it is nothing more than a tool used by God in His work.
The more it oppresses us, the more we must seek the truth
to achieve God's salvation.
This is God's will!
Amen!
But,
I didn't look for my brothers and sisters right away
so that I wouldn't bring trouble to the church.
That's all he could do.
That period of time
I could just pray and silently think of God's words at home.
Ring ring … Ring ring …
There's a phone call!
"Hey, Zhiyong,
some of our old classmates are going to be here tomorrow.
Let's all get together,
come to my house tomorrow!"
Hey, who was that?
Han Yongxin, an old classmate.
Oh, he wants to catch up!
I was so happy to hear that.
I can share the gospel again!
How could you even think of that?
You don't understand,
we've both been believers since we were little.
I've been performing my duty elsewhere these last few years
and I haven't had a chance to share testimony of God's work in the last days with him.
I can't attend a gathering now, right?
But I can find a way to preach the gospel!
Right, it's a great opportunity!
I got a small gift and was ready to go out.
He's so keen!
I very carefully watched my back the whole way.
Hey, anything there?
Nothing.
That isn't the way the CCP works!
It is.
Anyway,
I've arrived without a hitch.
Right.
As soon as I go in everyone comes over.
We haven't seen each other for so long, everyone's so friendly. (They're happy!)
I have this opportunity to share the gospel with them! (Yes.)
Just as we're chatting, I hear "bam bam bam,"
"bam bam bam …"
Who is it? It's …
"Open up, residence permit check."
Why would they suddenly come to check residence permits?
We were wondering that too.
I opened up the door,
and a group of police rushed suddenly inside.
He said, "Don't move!"
What's going on?
No one knows what's happening,
they're all stunned by this sudden onslaught.
With hands on head, everyone squats in the corner.
How could they not be scared?
As we were talking two officers came toward us.
I looked up and saw,
the security guard with the big black mole!
The buck-toothed policeman!
They were together all along!
"I have had my eye on you for months.
We've caught a few big fish with this long line we've had on you."
What big fish?
Isn't it a classmate reunion?
"Classmate reunion?
You're speaking to me in code?
You think I'm an idiot?"
In code?
"Doesn't 'dinner party' mean gathering?
You had to travel to get here, this is inter-region.
These must be high-level leaders!
Talk!
What level of leadership are they? What are their names?"
So the CCP was monitoring his phone
and thought he was going to meet with high-level leaders!
"I made a personal appearance for this 'fishing' plan,
putting in a lot of personnel and material resources,
getting so many eyes on the job.
Looks like all that effort didn't go to waste!"
The CCP saw him as fish bait,
letting him out was just a plot!
"Take everyone away!"
Hey,
they thought your classmates were leaders, and took them away?
Well,
we got to the Public Security Bureau and they looked into it,
they figured out they made a mistake.
Then they let them go.
Oh, so they let you go!
Let me go?
Could it be that easy?
They took out one photo after another (Photos?)
to have me identify who was the church leader.
I saw
that they were all people I'd met within the last few months.
Oh, so you were all under their surveillance!
There were also surveillance videos of me going out,
even going to buy vegetables.
Luckily you didn't run into brothers or sisters.
That would mean trouble!
Definitely!
From this round of questioning
they didn't reel in a single catch.
That awful buck-toothed officer furiously
gave me a beating.
"Dammit, you're toying with me!
Just see if I won't do you in!"
He still has to suffer quite a bit.
In the end,
they charged me with "undermining the enforcement of the law by unlawful proselytizing,"
then sentenced me to a full three years.
Every day the CCP does not collapse
is a day that Christians face the danger of arrest or persecution.
Yes!
The CCP haunts the land, eyes are everywhere.
Perhaps one day they'll arrest and torture me again,
but I know in my heart
my persecution is for righteousness' sake. (Amen!)
There's a wonderful hymn for this!