Priest And Seminarians Arrested

23 November 2005

China flag, prayer book and rosary On November 12, Chinese authorities arrested a Catholic priest, Father Yang Jianwei, and ten seminarians in a village near Xushui City in Hebei province, according to a report from Cardinal Kung Foundation. No indication has been given as to the reasons for the arrests. On November 15, six of the seminarians, who were not from the area, were released and sent to their homes. The other four, along with Yang, remain in custody.

These arrests, along with several others in recent days, come at a time when religious freedom in China has been prominently featured in the international news. Glenn Penner, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, said he was encouraged when he heard U.S. President Bush stressing the need for religious freedom in China during his recent visit to the country. At the same time Latin American evangelist Luis Palau was also visiting China as a guest of the Chinese government and made some rather controversial statements questioning religious persecution in China. To read Glenn Penner's response to Palau's remarks, click here. Also check out his November 11 weblog on international trade on countries like China.

Ask God to give Yang and the students the strength in Christ they will need to remain joyful in their suffering. Pray that those in prison would be protected from harm, that their practical needs would be met, and that they would be released soon. Ask the Lord to give them boldness to speak the truth in love, even to their persecutors. Pray that the eyes of the free world will be opened to the fact that persecution is a serious problem in China and do everything possible to support religious freedom there.

The Voice of the Martyrs has a number of books and DVDs on the church in China available on our online resource catalog. For more information on the persecution of China's Christians, 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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Pastor Jin Mingri (second from right).
Photo: ChinaAid

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Elder Xue Shaoqiang and Sister
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One of the church members being interrogated by police.
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Pastor Huang Yizi
Photo: ChinaAid

Pastor Huang Yizi, a prominent church leader in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, was informed on July 30th that he had been formally charged with "illegal business practices" relating to the distribution of sermon recordings. The Christian leader and several other church members were initially taken into custody on June 26th. At the time, the reason for their arrests was unclear. (A previously published report about the arrests is available here.) However, following the recent announcement of formal charges, further information has now come to light.

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