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China

• Imprisoned Pastor Highly Respected

  

  In August 2022, Pastor Geng Zejun was sentenced to 15 months in prison for "organizing illegal gatherings." Despite opposition from Chinese Communist Party officials, the church led by Pastor Geng refused to join the government-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement and was therefore deemed illegal.

• Lawyer Visits Imprisoned Church Elder

  

  Elder Hao Ming was arrested in November 2021 because of his ministry activities with the Early Rain Qingcaodi Church, which is located in the city of Deyang. Though retired from the pastorate, he continued to be actively involved in the church as a volunteer. At the time of his arrest, Hao was detained along with several other Christian leaders. (The initially published report may be reviewed at this page.)

• Christian Evangelist Released on Bail

  

  In June 2022, Lin Xuesui was arrested by China's Public Security Bureau and accused of "organizing and financing illegal gatherings." These accusations resulted from his ministry work in a remote region located approximately 2,000 kilometres from his home, where he shared his Christian testimony with local villagers. (A previous report on Lin's arrest is available here.)

• Seventeen Months Without a Trial

  

  On August 7th, 2021, police officers arrested Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and his wife Yang Rongli, along with ten other members of the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, China. For Pastor Wang and Yang, this situation was not unexpected, as the ministering couple had previously served prison sentences of three and seven years respectively after being arrested in 2009. (See this page for more details on these prior arrests.)

• Christians Released on Bail

  

  With thanksgiving, Bob Fu from ChinaAid reported on social media that Wang Minghai and Wan Hongxia were released from prison on January 13th. The two Christians had been detained since their arrests in August 2021. They were charged with conducting "illegal business operations" due to their involvement with a private Christian school. (A previous report on the situation can be reviewed here.)

• Sentence Upheld for House Church Pastor

  

  In July 2019, Pastor Hao Zhiwei from the Egangqiao Church was arrested for allegedly swindling money. The charges came about because the Christian leader collected financial offerings to support the unregistered house church she was overseeing. Since the church is not part of the country's Three-Self Patriotic Movement, authorities of the Communist government deemed it illegal. (See this page to review a previous report.)

• Verdict for Zhao Weikai

  

  In a previously posted "Persecution & Prayer Alert" report, we included Li Xin's appeal for prayer, requesting that the court hearing relating to the case of her husband, Zhao Weikai, would soon take place. At the time of that report, Zhao had been detained since July 2021 without a conviction. For more details, go to this page.

• Stricter Controls for Social Media Interactions

  

  Starting on December 15th, Chinese Internet users can be held liable for merely "liking" a social media post that the government considers harmful or illegal. The new rules are part of the recently imposed guidelines published by the Cyberspace Administration of China, mandating that all service providers carefully monitor comments and reactions – both digitally and through "speech review teams." Any so-called "bad information" is to be reported to the Internet Information Department.

• Anniversary Conference Leads to Further Charges

  

  On December 9th, 2018, police in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, began a coordinated attack against members of the Early Rain Covenant Church. This has resulted in the detainment of more than 100 church members – several of them convicted of a variety of charges – and mounting pressures being imposed upon the church during the ensuing years. For more information on the initial attack, go to this report.
  
  Since the crackdown began, members of the church have been unable to meet together in person. Instead, they have held small group gatherings in homes and participated in online meetings. On the fourth anniversary of the incident, members of the church organized an online event, which was initially hosted by Elder Li Yingqiang. As the event commenced, an archival video was played featuring their detained pastor, Wang Yi. In the middle of the video, Elder Li suddenly interjected: "The police are already here. They are knocking at my door. I'll be gone soon." After praying with everyone, he was taken to the police station where he was accused of "disturbing social order."

• Court Case Repeatedly Delayed

  

  In July 2021, Zhao Weikai, a leader of the Xuncheng (Zion) Reformed Church, was arrested after a search of his home revealed materials the Public Security Bureau deemed to be "promoting terrorism and extremism." For more details on the incident, a previously posted report is available here.