Imprisoned Church Members Released; Others Remain in Custody

In January 2020, an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party hosted a conference in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Five Chinese Christians who attended the event were charged in July 2021 and convicted on January 7th, 2022, of "illegally crossing the national border." These Christians were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to eight months. For more details, see our previously posted report.

Over the following few months, the believers were gradually released after serving their sentences. On January 27th, Song Shoushan was released having served six months. At the time, he recounted how he was able to share the Gospel message with many "broken people" in the prison. A month later, Zhang Yaowen and Wang Shiqiang were released. The final two remaining Christians, Zhang Ligong and Wang Runyun, were discharged on March 27th. Upon his release, Wang Runyun posted a picture on social media of him holding his children. The post said: "Dear family, we are back home safely. Thank you for your prayers. I am very grateful!"

On November 21st, 2021, two other members of the same church, Pastor An Yankui and Zhang Chenghao, were arrested on the same charge. However, at the time of publishing this report, there has not been a date set for their trials. Pastor An Yankui is the preacher of the Taiyuan Zion Reformed Church, which has been a target for persecution from government agencies due to its close relationship with the Early Rain Covenant Church. (See our country report to view background reports.)

In the most recently occurring incident, which took place on April 3rd, authorities raided Taiyuan Zion Reformed Church during its Sunday worship service. Seven members were interrogated until early the next morning, including the wives of Pastor An Yankui and Zhang Chenghao. Due to pandemic restrictions, the Christians were not detained further but released on the condition that they each paid a $100 fine.

Praise God that several of these church members have been released and that the five previously mentioned believers were able to share the Gospel while imprisoned. Please continue to pray for these believers and their families as they now resume faithfully serving the Lord in their community. Also prayerfully uphold our other Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ who are still imprisoned and facing charges, in hopes that all the accusations against them will be miraculously dropped.