5 minute read
East Asia
Hello,
Over the last 18 months I have written to all the Cuban church leaders who are listed in the current edition of Connect & Encourage. When I write, I commit myself to praying for each person I write to every dayfor the next month. David Ripon, UK
Advertisement
Be an encourager. Today.
Writing tip
China
Information courtesy of China Aid Association and other sources.
Living Stone Church
Living Stone Church is an unregistered Protestant church in China. Several church members have been targeted and the government has tried to force Living Stone church members to stop meeting: they would welcome your messages of solidarity and support. Pastor Yang Hua led Living Stone Church until he was detained in 2015 for ‘obstructing justice’ and ‘gathering a crowd to disturb social order’ and later ‘illegally holding state secrets’. He was formally arrested in early 2016, and his lawyers said that he had severe health conditions as a result of his ill treatment in detention.
Almost two weeks after his trial on 26 December 2016, Pastor Yang Hua was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. In March 2017 he was reported to be ‘on the verge of paralysis’ as a result of severe inflammation in his legs. Pastor Yang Hua was released from prison on 19 June 2018 after completing a two and a half year sentence. He was attacked and beaten by a government official in a police station in Guizhou Province on 23 May 2021. Pastor Yang Hua had been planning to visit Christian friends the following day, and it is believed that the official was trying to stop him from making the visit. Another leader at the church, Pastor Su Tianfu, was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for two years, with a further six months’ residential surveillance, following
Pastor Yang Hua
his trial on 26 April 2018. Both pastors were also fined over US$1 million for collecting ‘illegal’ donations from members of the congregation. Pastor Su Tianfu and Pastor Yang Hua have filed several appeals on the basis that the money was voluntarily donated by church members and was only used to fund church activities. All appeals were rejected.
#5-5-8 Dongshan Yi Jing Yuan Da Xing Garden Yun Yang District Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000 People’s Republic of China Pastor Zhang Shaojie
In 2013 over 20 members of Nanle County Christian Church, Henan, were detained after members attempted to petition a higher authority about a land dispute involving the church. Most were released, but Pastor Zhang Shaojie is in prison serving a 12-year sentence for fraud and ‘gathering acrowd to disturb public order’. Towards the end of 2021 his family received a letter from him, revealing that he is in good spirits and feels peaceful regarding hisimprisonment for theLord. Zhang Shaojie Xinmi Prison of Zhengzhou, Henan Province P O Box 841 Xinmi Post, No. 61, Songshan Avenue East Xinmi City, Henan Province China
Zhang Zhan
Zhang, a Christian lawyer, was arrested in May 2020 and later sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’, after reporting on the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. In autumn 2021, she became critically ill after a prolonged hunger strike. In February 2022, it was reported that her health had improved.
Zhang Zhan Area 5, Shanghai Women’s Prison No.1601, Zhangjing Road Sijing Zhen, Songjiang Qu Shanghai 201601 China Gao Zhisheng
Gao Zhisheng is a Christian human rights lawyer who was first detained by the Chinese authorities in 2006. Before this, he was known for defending religious minorities. Between 2006 and 2011 he was disappeared multiple times and suffered beatings and torture. He disappeared again in August 2017. Gao’s wife, Geng He, reported in April 2021 that police in the northern province of Shaanxi had admitted to holding Gao. Geng called on the Chinese government to return his remains, as she believes he may have been ‘persecuted to death’. Please email your messages to encourage Geng, and we will pass them on.
admin@csw.org.uk
Alimujiang Yimiti
A Uyghur Christian from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Alim is being detained ‘solely because of his faith’ according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Alimujiang was working as a project manager for a British company, when it was targeted in a series of closures of foreign businesses belonging to Christians in the Region in September 2007. Alim was detained in February 2008 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in April 2009, in a court case that did not follow due process under Chinese or international law.
Following a failed appeal, Alim was moved to a prison in Xinjiang’s provincial capital, Urumqi. In February 2011 it was announced that an appeal at the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang had failed and his sentence was upheld. In January 2013 Alim’s wife was informed that her monthly visits to her husband would be cut to one every three months.
Alimujiang Yimiti Prison No. 3 of Xinjiang No. 1339 Dongzhan Road Urumqi city Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 830013 People’s Republic of China
Be an encourager. Today.
Malaysia
Susanna Koh
Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted from a street in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in broad daylight, in February 2017. He has not been seen or heard from since that day four years ago. His wife Susannah and their children are still seeking answers, fighting for justice and continuing to trust that God will help them find the truth. Susanna Koh #107, Lot LG109B, One Utama Shopping Centre, No 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama 47800 Petaling Jaya Selangor West Malaysia
liewsusanna@yahoo.com
Alimujiang Yimiti
