Update: Fushan church leaders sentenced to prison

02 December 2009

Pastors Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli
conducting a baptism service
Photo from ChinaAid

Five leaders of the Fushan house church, who have been held in detention since their unwarranted arrests on September 25 (click here for more details), were sentenced to prison on November 25 following a 12 hour trial. At the trial, the pastors -- Yang Rongli, Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, Cui Jiaxing, and Zhang Huamei -- were only allowed to have four of their family members in attendance and their lawyers were only able to review 50 of the 1,000 pages of "evidence materials" in preparation for their defense. Yang Rongli was sentenced to seven years of detention for "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, and Cui Jiaxing were each given prison sentences ranging three to four years for "illegally occupying farming land" and Zhang Huamei was sentenced to four years for "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang have led the Fushan church, which is part of a 50,000 member house church network in the area, for more than 30 years.

On November 30, five more church leaders were handed two-year sentences of re-education through labour. The five -- Li Shuangping, Yang Hongzhen, Yang Caizhen, Gao Qin, and Zhao Guoai -- were charged with "gathering people to disturb the public order" after they organized a 1,000-believer prayer rally following an attack by over 400 military police on their church in September. Yang Caizhen, who is the wife of imprisoned church leader Yang Xuan, had one of her teeth knocked out during severe interrogations and is in frail condition. (Source: ChinaAid)

Ask God to sustain these brothers and sisters and their families through this difficult time. Pray that these charges will be dropped and the leaders will be released. Ask God to encourage the members of this church to continue to worship and serve Him.

For more information on how Christians suffer persecution in China, check out the China Country Report.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.