He was the pastor of a large unregistered church called Living Stone church in Guizhou Province in China until he was placed under criminal detention in 2015, charged with 'illegally possessing state secrets'.
He had refused to register with the state-sanctioned Patriotic Association for Protestants in China. They were accused of crimes against the state. They didn't want to register as they felt it would give the government too much control over their activities and mean they lose their independence.
In January 2017 he was sentenced and another leader at the same church, Pastor Su Tianfu, was also put in prison for one year and suspended for two years.
The pastors were fined $1 million US for collecting 'illegal' donations from the congregation - both pastors filed appeals saying the donations were voluntary but the appeals were rejected.
Pastor Yang Hua's health in prison had been noted before, with his lawyer saying he was "on the verge of paralysis" because of an inflammation in his legs and due to only being given basic medical care in prison.
He was moved to the medical wing of the prison but his leg and skin conditions only began while in detention and other health problems were exacerbated.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide's China advocacy officer told Premier how else he suffered while inside: "He had limited meetings with his family – he would be able to meet them once a month for a very short visit only."
She explained why Living Stone may have been being monitored: "We think that the reason this church has been particularly targeted was because of it's size, it grew very, very rapidly from having about 20 members in 2009 to 700 members in 2015...it also did a lot in the community, it also helped smaller churches, it was a kind of umbrella for churches in the province.
"They also resisted when they were pressured to join and to register...so for these reasons we think it's been particularly targeted by the authorities."
Listen to the full interview here:
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