More Than Twenty Arrested in Shanghai

ChinaAid 11 April 2019

Pastor Michael Yu - Photo: ChinaAid www.chinaaid.org — Pastor Michael Yu
Photo: ChinaAid

Authorities in the city of Shanghai seized more than 20 Christian business leaders, along with one American citizen, in the early morning of April 4th. According to ChinaAid, the arrests were directly tied to their faith and church activities.

All of those arrested were affiliated with the company I Will and were rounded up by security officers. Among them was Michael Yu, a pastor with Taiwanese and American citizenship. Although Pastor Yu was later released, airport security barred him from leaving China when he attempted to board a flight to Los Angeles.

Pastor Yu has regularly travelled from the United States to China in order to minister to Christian business people. There are concerns that he may be treated more harshly by authorities because of his Taiwanese citizenship. For more information on the persecution facing Christians in China, visit our country report.

Please remember all of those presently being detained, including Pastor Yu. May the reassuring knowledge of the Lord's presence bring comfort and strength to each one of them, as well as their concerned families. Pray for God's divine intervention and advocacy on their behalf, and that Pastor Yu will be able to continue with his ministry to business leaders in China.

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.