The Vatican confirmed Bishop Shao to lead the diocese in September 2016, following the death of his predecessor, Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang, who was imprisoned for 16 years. At the time of his predecessor’s death, Zhumin was arrested by police and taken “on a trip,” according to the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need. He was then detained by authorities several times after that.
In April and of May 2017, Bishop Shao was arrested; after the second arrest, he was detained for seven months. In 2018, he was reportedly arrested again and subjected to indoctrination.
Born in 1963, Bishop Shao Zhumin was ordained a priest in 1989. In 2011, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Yongjia.
His appointment was, however, not accepted by the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
Detentions of underground clergy in China are common, as a means of pressuring them to join the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
The “abductions” of religious leaders usually take place on the eve of important Catholic events, such as Christmas, Easter, the Feast of the Assumption, and All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day, said AsiaNews. In recent years, authorities have blocked the entrance to the Wenzhou cemetery ahead of All Souls’ Day to prevent Catholics from gathering.