21 House Church Leaders in Inner Mongolia, Ningixa Criminally Detained

WUHAI, Inner Mongolia, -- Fifteen house church leaders from two remote regions of China have been in detention since mid-July as local police have tried to extort money from their families with promises of their release once the money has been paid and threats of labor camp sentences or criminal prosecution if it is not, ChinaAid has learned. The incident began at 10 a.m. on July 26, when dozens of local police and officers of the Domestic Security Protection Department burst into a meeting in the city of Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, where more than 20 church leaders from Wuhai and Ningxia province's Shizuishan were gathered to plan summer church activities.