The police detained 21 people from Wuhai and Shizuishan, Ningxia province, and confiscated Bibles and other items. The leaders were held on suspicion of “using a cult organisation to undermine national law enforcement”. Following physical examinations, six elderly members of the group who were found to be in poor health were released.

The rest of the group are being held while the authorities try to extort money from their families to secure their release. Families were told their loved ones would be set free if they paid 50,000 yuan (£4,800; US$7,800; €5,745), but when they delivered the money to the prosecutor’s office, they were told that more money was required, and that if it was not paid, the leaders would be sent to labour camps or face criminal prosecution. At the time of writing, it was not known whether the remaining 15 Christians had been released.

Shouwang church members

On Easter Sunday, April 24, Shouwang Church attempted to hold an outdoor Easter service, but the congregation were met by police who were waiting for them. At least 36 Christians were taken to the police station. For some this was the second or even third time they had been arrested in less than a month. On Sunday 10 April, some 200 Christians met at the agreed meeting place but the police, alerted to the plans, taped off the area and took people away. The authorities confiscated mobile phones and interrogated the Christians, ordering them to write statements of repentance. Many refused and were held in custody, where they sang hymns until their release later that night. A number of church elders and pastors had also been kept in their homes by police to prevent them from attending the Sunday morning service. Twenty-four hours after the mass arrest, most of the Christians had been released, with just the pastor and two others remaining in custody. Full Story

Pray that Chen would continue to serve God and not man. Pray that Chen will stand firm no matter what persecution comes.

On the morning of November 22nd, three pastors of Wanbang church were summoned to a Shanghai police station for interrogation on suspicion of “engaging in illegal organisation and activities”. They were held until the afternoon. Despite intimidation from local authorities and the detention of the pastors, more than 500 dedicated church members gathered outdoors to continue the scheduled worship services.

Since the building’s closure, the authorities have been unsuccessful in preventing meetings of the church. On November 15th ten police officers attempted to obstruct Pastor Cui from attending church. Members also received threatening text messages defaming the church and saying that the service had been cancelled. In spite of this, over 700 people turned up to the outdoor prayer meeting that day.

In preparation for the mid-November visit of President Obama to China, the Shanghai authorities launched a city-wide search for members of Wanbang church, attempting to break up prayer and worship gatherings. All seven pastors were also issued with official notices to stop their “illegal religious activities”, which declared their pastoral status as “self-claimed illegal preachers”. On November 8th, the church website was forcibly shut down by the government’s censorship office to prevent negative reporting prior to Obama’s visit.