By Sky News Beijing Team
The daughter of a jailed Chinese Christian pastor has been detained by authorities in what her husband claims is an attempt to silence her ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Zhang Shanshan is the daughter of Pastor Zhang Shaojie, the leader of Nanle County Church in China's Henan Province, who was arrested in November last year along with 23 of his parishioners.
Pastor Zhang was sentenced to 12 years in jail for "gathering crowds to disturb public order" and "fraud", after a secret detention spanning seven months.
His case has pitted a Christian community against the local government in a dispute over freedom to worship and the right to own land.
Sky News has learned that Ms Zhang was taken away by unknown men at around 11am on Wednesday while she was grocery shopping in her hometown.
Her husband, Hah CheeChuan, a Malaysian national, called her repeatedly when she failed to return home but there was no answer.
Ms Zhang eventually called back, and managed to shout the name of the hotel in which she was being held.
Minutes later Mr Hah received a text message from his wife saying: "Nanle Hotel, help me!"
A series of text messages between husband and wife then revealed that two other women were also being held in the same hotel.
One of them was Ms Zhang's aunt and the other was church leader Fan Ruizhen. It is believed the local government wanted to demolish their church before Ms Fan could be released.
Ms Zhang's husband told Sky News that he believed his wife was detained because the local government feared she would try to publicise her father's "unjust" arrest while world leaders were in China for the APEC summit.
He said: "They tried to cover up the ugly things in the country, and they don't want the outside world to know what is going on in China.
"So I think that's why they've arrested them, and put them somewhere else."
US President Barack Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among world leaders scheduled to attend the meeting.
The US government is aware of Pastor Zhang's case.
In July, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "I want to express deep concern by the United States by reports that Zhang Shaojie was convicted 4 July and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in retaliation for his peaceful advocacy on behalf of his church community.
"We call on Chinese authorities to release Pastor Zhang and we urge China to cease harassment of his family members and congregants."
The hostility and danger faced by some Chinese Christians was witnessed by Sky News in December last year.
A Sky News crew was attacked by a group of local people believed to have been hired by the government as they investigated Pastor Zhang's arrest. Sky News was removed by force from the town and told not to return.
The team secured a secret meeting with Pastor Zhang's other daughter Zhang Huixin, who was in hiding with her baby daughter. She described the violent arrest of her father.
Earlier this year Zhang Huixin - also known as Yunyun - and her husband escaped from China with their baby daughter, and sought shelter in the US state of Texas.
Despite the constitutional rights to religious freedom, China's Christians are among a number of religious groups persecuted by the authorities.
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