Christians Released While Others Face Trial

After ten days in custody, Bishop Wei Jingyi was released on the afternoon of March 14, according to AsiaNews sources. Bishop Wei is a leader in the underground Catholic Church in China which insists on allegiance to the Pope, contrary to the policies of the Chinese government. He was arrested at a tollbooth as he was returning from meeting foreign friends at the Harbin airport (click here for more details). His foreign visitors, both from France, were also detained but then released. According to one source, the authorities detained him because they were not pleased that he was meeting with foreigners. It is believed that he was released, at least in part, because of the strong international pressure, including an appeal from the Vatican.

Liu Fenggang

The Voice of the Martyrs has also learned that the trial for three house church leaders began on March 16. Liu Fenggang, Xu Yonghai and Zhang Shengqi are accused of providing intelligence to foreign organizations. According to a March 17 report from China Aid Association, the secret trial lasted three hours and the accused are now awaiting the verdict.

When family members tried to attend the trial, they were prevented by police. Ms. Li Mingzhi and Ms. Ye Jifei arrived at the courthouse only to be detained for three hours and then escorted to the train station to be returned to their home provinces thousands of miles away.

Dr. Xu Yonghai & Li Shanna in the remains of their house

Ms. Li Shanna, the wife of Dr Xu Yonghai, was escorted by police from Beijing to Hangzhou to have a "tour" of the city, thus preventing her from attending the trial. According to one source, the three were accused of leaking information about a court case in 2000 to an overseas magazine, "Christian Life Quarterly," which prosecutors called an "evil cult" magazine.

In a positive development, Deborah Xu Yongling was released on bail on March 15, following intensive international pressure, including from the US State Department. She has been warned to not leave her village for the next six months until formal charges have been filed.

These incidents took place as China's National People's Congress debated enshrining human rights in China's constitution. An amendment passed on March 14 simply states, "the state respects and preserves human rights," without giving any details on what that means. VOM spokesman, Glenn Penner, said, "Without clear definitions of what rights are being protected, this amendment is meaningless. We urge the international community to push for the establishment of true civil and religious liberties in China."

Pray that China will begin to respect the rights of its citizens and stop the oppression of those who do not adopt Communist dogma. Pray that Liu Fenggang, Xu Yonghai and Zhang Shengqi will be released.

We encourage you to submit polite letters to your national government leaders and to Chinese authorities, expressing your concern for these and other Christians imprisoned in China. The release of Bishop Wei and Deborah Xu are examples that international pressure can effect change. For addresses of government leaders in Canada and USA, as well as Chinese embassies, go to https://www.vomcanada.com/links.htm.

For more information on persecution facing Christians in China, click here.