02/16/2012 China (The Financial Express) – China is facing a conundrum over the “Lin-sanity” phenomenon that is sweeping the world of basketball with the sensational rise of Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks player.
Mr Lin, 23, has gone from obscurity to the world’s most-watched basketball star in under a week. His story – an unwanted player who shines when given a chance – has the right mix of adversity and success to captivate the US, but poses a problem for the media in basketball-mad China.
In mainland China, Mr Lin’s following on Weibo, the Twitter-like microblog, has exploded to over a million fans. But official Chinese media has been notably quiet. While this is partly due to the typical slow response of the hulking state-run media, there are signs that his Taiwanese background and devout Christianity sit uncomfortably with government censors.
On Wednesday morning in Beijing, China Central Television, the sports channel of CCTV, the national broadcaster, ran a taped Champions League football match as scheduled instead of switching to a live broadcast of Mr Lin steering the Knicks to victory with a last-gasp “three-point” basket.
Chinese basketball fans have been asking why CCTV has not shown his games. Online forums are awash with speculation that the Taiwanese flags waved by some of his fans are the impediment. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and rejects any displays of Taiwanese independence.
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Mr Lin’s Christianity is perhaps more awkward for China’s atheist communist rulers. While Beijing officially sanctions some churches, it frowns on the spontaneous professions of love for God that pepper Mr Lin’s postgame comments.
Evidence of how state censors would like to downplay his religion came in a CCTV news report when he was named a National Basketball Association player of the week on Monday.
“I love the fact that he gave praise to his team and to God,” said one New Yorker interviewed in English.
But the Chinese subtitles translated his comments simply as “I love him for praising his team”, scrubbing out the religious reference.
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[Full Story]
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A worship service disbanded in Indonesia!
ICC’s staff member in Indonesia reported that the congregation of the Kemah Daud Christian Church in Bandar Lampung was disbanded during their worship service by local authorities and residents.
The forced closure of the church was contrary to Indonesian President Jokowi’s recent appeal and undermined the Indonesian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship and religion for all.
Read more:
Indonesian Authorities Disband Worship Service - International Christian Concern
www.persecution.org
2/24/2023 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – ICC’s staff member in Indonesia reported that the congregation of the Kemah Daud Christian Church in Bandar Lampung was disbanded during the...
PRAY for Christian women and girls in Nigeria! ICC recently spoke to one mother and her 16-year-old daughter, who were victims of an attempted rape in Nigeria. Thankfully, they survived, but not without injury.
The mother shared, "I have nothing to say but thank God. Please tell Christians to pray for me and my daughter."
Terrorists, like the Fulani militants and Boko Haram, target schools and villages and kidnap young girls to convert to Islam. Women, viewed as the source of the next generation, are sold as brides (or child brides).
ICC is assisting the mother and her teenage daughter as they get back on their feet.
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