House Church Internet Activist Arrested

17 December 2003

^{Ye Jifei and Zhang Shengqi}

On the morning of November 26, more than ten Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers raided the house of Ye Jifei in Jilin City in the province of Jilin on the North Korean border. Ye was taken into custody and faced constant interrogation until the next night, when she was released due to serious illness. The next morning she was arrested again and was interrogated about any connection between her fiancée, Zhang Shengqi, and Liu Fenggang, who is in jail in Xiaoshan on charges of "leaking national secrets." (click here). She was released that afternoon.

VOM learned this week that Zhang Shengqi has been formally charged and is being held in the same prison as Liu Fenggang and Xu Yonghai (click here) in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang province. Both Zhang and Ye work for a computer company and Zhang is an active Internet writer. It is suspected that he is being accused of helping Liu publish his articles online.

^{Xu Yonghai and Liu Fenggang}

According to Bob Fu from The Voice of the Martyrs, there have been at least six writers sentenced for "subversive anti-Party, anti-socialist language" on the Internet in recent months. If Zhang faces similar charges, he will be the first such Christian writer.

Please pray for Zhang's family during this time. Pray for physical and emotional strength for Zhang, as he undoubtedly faces severe interrogation. Pray for physical strength and healing for Ye as well. Pray that their legal costs will be covered.

We encourage you to express your concern over this situation. You can find the address of your local Chinese embassy through links on our website at https://www.vomcanada.com/links.htm. Those who know Chinese can contact the Chuanying PSB Branch office to politely express your concerns. The fax number is 011-86-432-6962911. The phone number is 011-86-432-6962818. The phone number for No.1 Detention Center where Brother Zhang is being held is 011-86-432-2136028.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.