Jesus in China: Life on the edge

Under threat of arrest, Christian activists in China battle boldly for the freedom to practice their beliefs unfettered by the government.
By Evan Osnos
Tribune correspondent
June 24, 2008

JINAN, China - At a highway rest stop just after dawn, Rev. Zhang Mingxuan answered his cell phone and resumed looking for trouble."Did you contact the lawyer I mentioned?" Zhang asked the caller, a rural church leader under pressure from his local government. "He will help you."

The caller was another addition to Zhang's unprecedented experiment: an alliance of Chinese church leaders, worshipers and public-interest lawyers who share the goal of winning greater rights and recognition for their faith. the rest