Two-hundred Chinese Christians scheduled to participate this week in a major evangelical gathering in South Africa are not going. The Chinese government denied them permission to travel to the event.

More than 4,000 Christians from around the world will gather Oct. 16-25 for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, known as Cape Town 2010. 

Lausanne's Executive Chair Doug Birdsall told CBN News in an exclusive interview hours before the launch of the Congress that he was deeply saddened about the decision not to permit the Chinese delegation to participate. 

Click play for his remarks.