ICC Note: Pastor Zhang Shaojie of the Nanle County Christian Church in Henan Province was detained back in November along with 23 other church members by Chinese authorities. The case was highly unusual for China, as Pastor Shaojie leads a government approved “Three-Self” church. His arrest, and the arrest of his church members, many of whom have now been released, may have been due to his activism and the community and his protest over the confiscation of church land by the government. Chinese officials have been heavy handed in the case, sealing off the church and threatening church members. Government hired thugs have also attacked church members, lawyers, and journalists attempting to cover the case. 
1/27/2014 China (CSW) – Christian Worldwide Solidarity (CSW) has learned that the trial date for detained Protestant Pastor Zhang Shaojie, which was originally scheduled to take place on 28 January, has now been rescheduled for 12 February 2014.
According to unconfirmed reports, the court notice stated that the reason for the postponement was that Pastor Zhang decided to have a new lawyer; this may refer to the fact that Zhang’s second lawyer, Zhao Yonglin, submitted his credentials later than lawyer Liu Weiguo.
On 21 January, lawyer Liu Weiguo received a notice from the Nanle’s People’s Court stating that Pastor Zhang’s trial was due to take place on 28 January. On the same day, he received notice of a pre-trial consultation between the lawyer, the defendant and the court, set for 23 January. China Aid reports that Pastor Zhang decided to boycott the meeting on the grounds that the required period of notice for such a meeting is three days; the short notice would have meant that his lawyer could not attend.
Pastor Zhang, 49, belongs to the Nanle County Christian Church under the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). On 15 November, several church members were detained after petitioning a higher authority about a land dispute involving the church. On 16 November, police forcibly detained Pastor Zhang without any formal documentation. Zhang’s sisters and other church members were also detained, and several others were summoned to government offices. In total over 20 church members were detained. According to reports from China Aid, as of 15 January nine church members remain in detention and three more are missing after being taken into police custody.
Some church members believe that Zhang was detained as part of a plan by the authorities to replace him as the head of the local TSPM, because of his defence of marginalized social groups. Zhang Shaojie has been charged with “fraud” and “disturbing public order”.
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