Update: Shi Weihan receives three year prison sentence

17 June 2009

Shi Weihan and his family
Photo from ChinaAid

China June 11, Shi Weihan (38), a Christian bookstore owner and house church lefader, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 150,000 Yuan (approximately $2,500 CAD) for "illegally" printing and distributing Christian literature, according to a June 11 report from ChinaAid. The time that Weihan has spent in prison since he was first arrested in November 2007 (click here for more details) will reportedly be considered part of his three-year sentence. Six others believed to be shareholders and executives of the printing company which printed the Bibles that Weihan distributed also stood trial and received criminal sentences.

To learn more about the faithfulness of persecuted believers in China, visit the China Country Report.

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.