CHINA: Religious persecution and issues, Bimonthly Digest Nov. 1-15
HRWF Database of Protestant Prisoners’Documented Cases below in short or here
Buddhists
07.11.2022 – China imprisons 2 Tibetan monks for sending donations to Dalai Lama
Chinese authorities in Tibet have sentenced two monks from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province to prison for sending prayer offerings to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of their monastery, both living in exile in India, Radio Free Asia has learned.
The two monks, Rachung Gendun and Sonam Gyatso, had both sent the donations to Tibet’s foremost spiritual leader and Kirti Rinpoche, sources said.
Protestants
11.11.2022 – Beijing Lampstand Church: Families demand release of arrested pastor, co-worker
Last week, relatives of Pastor Qin Sifeng and Sister Su Minjun circulated an appeal among house churches, asking them to pray and demand the release of the two missionaries of Beijing Lampstand Christian Church.
Beijing Lampstand is a successful house church, and like others in the history of the Beijing’s independent Christian movement, it has felt the urge to evangelize in remote areas of the country. Pastor Qin and Sister Su went to Yunnan, some 2,500 kilometers from Beijing, and started a missionary work there.
11.11.2022 – House church member detained after a week of residential surveillance
On Wednesday, Wen Huijuan, the wife of Linfen Covenant house church coworker Wang Qiang, received a criminal detention notice from Lifen Municipal Bureau of Public Security. Wang Qiang has been criminally detained and transported to the detention center after a week of designated residential surveillance.
The notice states that the bureau criminally detained Wang Qiang on suspicion of fraud on November 9, at 4 PM at the detention center located in Raodu District, Shanxi Province.
09.11.2022 – An Yankui and Zhang Chenghao receive their verdict
On November 7, Mrs. Yao Congya received her husband An Yankui’s verdict. An was sentenced to one year and a fine of ￥5,000 (~$692) for “illegally crossing the border.” The same day, Mrs. Guo Juan received her husband Zhang Chenghao’s verdict. Zhang was sentenced to one year and a fine of ￥4,000 (~$553) under the same charge. The verdict was issued by Fenyang City People’s Court on November 3.
04.11.2022 – Henan preacher arrested for purchasing Christian books online
Last week, a woman called Li Xiaoyan circulated among Christian house churches an appeal about the situation of her husband, preacher Chen Lijun, and her family.
Chen Lijun lived in Luoyang, a prefecture-level city in Henan province. He was detained on August 13 and formally arrested on August 27. The main charge against him is that he has purchased Christian books online without authorization.
His wife reports that without her husband, who remains in jail, the situation of her family is desperate. They should support two elderly parents, both suffering from cancer. Li Xiaoyan’s health is also precarious, and the family should now survive with her monthly salary of some 2,000 yuan, less than 300 US dollars.
Falun Gong
15.11.2022 – Jiangxi woman secretely sentenced to prison for talking to people about Falun Gong
Ms. Ji Guorong was arrested on December 14, 2021 after being reported by some villagers for talking to them about Falun Gong. The police ransacked her home and put her under criminal detention at the Taiyuan City No. 3 Detention Center. She was transferred to the Gujiao City No. 4 Women’s Detention Center after her arrest was approved on December 28. Her family was kept in the dark of when she was tried and sentenced.
Ms. Ji, 68, took up Falun Gong in 1996. She changed from being very competitive to being calm and considerate. Many of her ailments, including stomach problems, headaches, heart problems and arthritis, all disappeared.
13.11.2022 – Repeatedly detained and forced to abort six-month pregnancy, Hunan woman imprisoned for her faith
A 49-year-old resident in Changsha City, Hunan Province was transferred to Hunan Province Women’s Prison in July 2022 to serve three years and four months for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Gong Xianghui had been arrested at least six times and held at a brainwashing center for nearly three years. She lost three jobs due to the persecution and was forced to have an abortion at 24 weeks.
11.11.2022 – Wrongfully convicted woman dies days after being denied medical parole
A 47-year-old Falun Gong practitioner who was denied medical parole despite her critical condition has died on November 8, 2022.
Ms. Liu Hongxia of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on October 28, 2021, for putting up posters about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She started a hunger strike on February 14, 2022 to protest the persecution.
When her lawyer went to visit her on February 28, he was told that she had been moved to Xinhua Hospital, which is associated with the Dalian City Detention Center and local prisons.
HRWF Database of Protestant Prisoners’Documented Cases
See details of each case here or at https://hrwf.eu/hrwf-prisoners-database-china/
BAO Guohua (Pastor), 14 years
CHEN Yu, 7 years
DENG Tianyong, 3 years
DIANHONG Ju, 13 years
FENG Qunhao, 2,5 years
FU Hyunjuan, 6 years
GONG Shengliang, Life in prison
GU Yuese (Joseph), 14 years
HAO Zhiwei, 8 years
HU Shigen, 7,5 years
HU Yong, Life in prison
LI Aihui, 4 years
LI Dongzhe, 7 years
LI Guanzhong, 14 years
LI Juncai, 5 years
LIANG Qin, 12 years
PIAO Shunnan, 7 years
QIN Defu, 4 years
RENGUO, Xian, 3 years and 10 months
WANG Yi, 9 years
XING Wenxiang, 12 years
XU Fuming, Life in prison
YANG Shunxiang, 4 years
YIMIT Alimujan, 15 years
ZEJUN Geng (Pastor),1 year and 3 months
ZHANG Shaojie (Pastor),12 years
ZHANG Wenying, 12 years
ZHOU Hua (pseudonym), 6 years
ZHU Zhongcai, 5 years