Christians imprisoned in China: Appeal for members of the "Jesus Family" jailed in Shandong Province

According to sources in Hong Kong, 37 Chinese Christians from a Protestant community called the Jesus Family were arrested last year from the town of Duoyigou, Weishan county, Shandong Province and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment or re-education through labour for their involvement in peaceful religious activities. They include Zheng Yunsu, the leader of the community, who was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in September 1992. Two of his sons, Zheng Jiping and Zheng Jike, were sentenced to 9 years' imprisonment, two other sons received sentences of five and six years. Similar incidences have been reported from other areas, such as the repeated short-term detention of a Jesus Family house-church leader, called Feng, from Pingyao town, Shaanxi province.