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China

• Chen Wensheng Sentenced to 19 Months

  

  Chen Wensheng is no stranger to arrests and police intimidation. A radically reformed former drug addict, the Christian evangelist has travelled throughout China to share his testimony, gaining the nickname of "Gospel Warrior." (See these other reports about this faithful believer.)

• New Health Concerns for Elder Zhang Chunlei

  

  Zhang Chunlei is an elder with the Ren'ai Reformed Church in Guiyang, China. He was detained in March 2021 and remained in detention without charge until his trial in November 2022, when he was accused of "inciting subversion of state power." The trial was held in secret, without any witnesses, and a verdict has never been announced since then. In the meantime, Elder Zhang continues to remain imprisoned. (Review previously published reports about this church leader's case.)

• Persistent Harassment Against Church Deacons

  

  In 2018, the Early Rain Covenant Church was violently raided by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities, resulting in multiple arrests. Since then, members of the church have continued to face harassment, including a church deacon named Jia Xuewei. Click here for previous reports on Jia's situation.

• High Security for Trial

  

  The case of Chen Wensheng was heard by the Hengyang City Shigu District People's Court on April 18th. However, when Chen's relatives and friends arrived that morning to attend the trial, they found about 40 black-clad special force officers guarding the entrance of the court building. In addition, the entire street was blocked off under the pretext of performing a "drill" so that any supporters could be prevented from attending the trial. Despite aggressive actions by the police, Chen's supporters are reported to have demonstrated "patience and calmness."

• Verdict Against Christian Elders

  

  In November 2021, Wu Jiannan and Hao Ming were arrested on suspicion of fraud. On March 15th, 2023, after spending more than two years in detention, the two Christian elders were released on bail pending their trials.

• Members of Raided Church Detained

  

  On March 10th, the members of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang, Anhui province, were gathered at a restaurant when their meeting was suddenly raided by local police. Without showing identification or giving reasons for the raid, the police began interrogating the Christians. Officials from the local religious affairs bureau, along with national security agents, also entered the restaurant and began taking pictures.

• Report Updates

  The following three reports provide up-to-date information received from
  ChinaAid regarding the recent court cases of Christian leaders in China.

  

  Xi'an Church of Abundance
  In August 2022, three ministers from the Church of Abundance located in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, were detained on allegations of fraud. (See more details on their detentions.)The three church leaders were identified as Lian Changnian, Lian Xuliang and Fu Juan. Though these believers were placed in "residential surveillance at a designated location," their families received no information on their whereabouts for a duration of six months. During that time, the detained Christians endured starvation, deprivation and other forms of torture.

• Detained Preacher Subjected to Abuse and Delays

  

  The family of Chang Hao is calling for prayer after learning that conditions in prison have significantly worsened for the disabled Christian man. During a previous visit with his lawyer, Chang described the harsh treatment he was receiving from prison officials. Those concerns were brought to the attention of the prison authorities but, according to Chang, this disclosure resulted in even harsher conditions.

• Another Church Ordered to Remove Crosses

  

  For more than 30 years, crosses were allowed to be displayed by Christian churches throughout China. However, as of 2014, the situation began to reverse. Beginning in Zhejiang Province, over 1,000 crosses were forcibly removed from Christian buildings over a three-year period. The enforcement of that campaign then spread to other provinces.

• Pastor John Cao Released After Seven Years in Prison

  

  Originally from Hunan province, Pastor John Cao is a permanent resident of the United States and also happens to be married to an American citizen. Before his arrest, he served as a missionary in Myanmar's Wa State, building schools and caring for impoverished people in the region. As part of his ministry work, Pastor John frequently crossed the border between China and Myanmar. The Christian leader was able to continue his ministry activities for three years without encountering any problems from the authorities.