Catholic Priests, Seminarians Arrested

18 August 2004

On the evening of August 6, eight underground Roman Catholic priests and two seminarians were attending a retreat when twenty police vehicles and a large number of officers raided the remote village of Sujiazhuang in Hebei Province, China. According to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, the ten are in custody in the Baoding Security Bureau. The arrested include Huo Junlong and Zhang Zhenquian of the Baoding Diocese and Father Huang of Sujiazhuang Village.

The President of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, Joseph Kung, said, "While the whole world is in awe at the performance and the spirit of the Olympic Games, the Chinese government, who will be hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, failed to respect such Olympic spirits and violated its own constitution guaranteeing religious freedom by raiding and jailing these innocent religious personnel."

Pray for those arrested, as well as Christians throughout China who live under a constant threat of arrest and torture. We encourage Christians to politely voice your concerns to the Chinese authorities. For contact information for Chinese embassies around the world, click here.

^{Pastor Allen Yuan}

Pioneer and grandfather of China's underground church movement, Pastor Allen Yuan recently met with VOM representatives in Beijing. Two recent video clips from the 88-year old pastor are available on our multimedia website, PersecutionTV. The first one is a greeting to his brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of the world and the second is a discussion of Christianity in China. For more information on persecution facing Christians in China, click here.

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.

China News

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Elder Xue Shaoqiang and Sister
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Pastor Huang Yizi
Photo: ChinaAid

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Pastor Chang Shun with one of his children.
Photo: ChinaAid

Since 2021, Pastor Chang Shun of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang City has encountered ongoing harassment from Chinese authorities. Unfortunately, all his appeals, in response to the multiple administrative detentions and fines he received over the years, have been unsuccessful. In 2023, Pastor Chang's church was officially banned by the government. Most recently, the harassed church leader was detained on June 29th during a raid by law enforcement officers. In this latest occurrence, he was taken into custody alongside Elder Ma Tao on suspicion of "organizing illegal gatherings." Several visiting friends and family members of Pastor Chang were also detained. Authorities forcibly relocated the visiting individuals, loading their belongings onto trucks and sending them back to their hometowns with strict orders not to return to Fuyang.

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