Taiwanese Pastor Detained in China after Visiting Unauthorized Christian Church
- Updated Nov 10, 2015
A Taiwanese pastor has been detained after visiting a non-government sanctioned church in China.
The Associated Press reports that Pastor Shen Zhenguo was detained for 15 days by the Chinese government after he visited an unauthorized Christian congregation in central China.
Congregations in China who do not pledge loyalty to China’s Communist Party are banned and must meet secretly if they are to avoid persecution from the government.
Pastor Shen had visited the underground congregation of Pastor Li Jia’en on October 13. Both he and Li were detained directly after Shen’s visit.
"We were told it was because we received a Taiwanese pastor," Li said.
Li also stated that, although the congregation had been harassed previously, they had never had any members detained before.
Government officials declined to confirm the case and a government propaganda official denied that he knew of it.
China has been increasing its crackdown on churches and persecution of Christians under President Xi Jinping’s government.
Publication date: November 10, 2015
