ICC Note:

A Taiwanese pastor in China name Xu Rongzhang was detained by authorities for leading the congregation in singing “Jesus Love You.” He was detained on April 15th because, officials said, the song was an “illegal religious activity.” He was released the same day he was detained, but his identification documents were kept for two days, preventing him from traveling on a scheduled trip to mainland China. China has also recently detained a Taiwanese activist, amid heightened tension between the two countries. At the same time China has also been cracking down harder on religion. The fact that Pastor Xu was both Christian and Taiwanese puts him at a greater risk of detainment by Chinese authorities.

4/19/2017 China (China Aid) – Authorities in China’s central Henan province declared singing a Christian song illegal on Saturday and detained a Taiwanese pastor for doing so.

When Pastor Xu Rongzhang from Taiwan led a group of Christians in Zhengzhou, Henan, in singing the worship song “Jesus Loves You,” officials stated that the song was an illegal religious activity and detained Xu on April 15. They also took his identification documents and permit to travel to mainland China and did not return them until April 17, even though Xu was released on the same day that he was taken into custody.

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