Authorities in China have released on bail a church leader who had been jailed since August 2023 for printing Bibles, while the Christian co-founder of a special needs school has been arrested on charges of “inciting disturbances” due to his human rights activism.
The Haidian Branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau charged Zhu Bin, co-founder of the Beijing Special Children School, with “inciting disturbances” on September 29.
He is currently being held in the Haidian District Detention Center, as reported by the human rights outlet Bitter Winter. The outlet noted that authorities have repeatedly raided and harassed Zhu’s school. As an advocate for social justice and welfare, Zhu has made significant contributions to charity since the COVID-19 outbreak, raising funds for patients and disaster victims.
“When the scandal of the ‘Chained Mother of Eight’ erupted in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 2022, Zhu Bin called for an investigation by collecting signatures and mailing a petition to the National People’s Congress,” Bitter Winter reported. This scandal involved a man presented as a model CCP [Chinese Communist Party] activist who bought a woman from human traffickers, resulting in eight children, and kept her chained for years. Zhu's petition raised his profile nationally and ultimately led to his detention.
In Shunde, Guangdong Province, the Shunde District People’s Court granted bail to Shunde Shengjia Church elder Zhu Longfei on October 8 after 14 months in jail. Zhu faces charges of “illegal business operations” for printing Bible study materials for the church’s internal use, according to the advocacy group China Aid.
He was arrested on August 9, 2023, following a police raid on his church, during which Pastor Deng Yanxiang, deacon Zhu Longjiang, deacon Wang Weicai, and Zhu Qiaoling were detained on suspicion of "illegal business operations."
China Aid detailed that “two Bible study venues were also raided by over 100 people, and a large number of books, tables, and chairs were taken away that day.” On November 30, 2023, the cases of Zhu Longfei and the previously detained church leaders were combined and prosecuted by the Shunde District People’s Procuratorate.
The church’s printing of devotional materials, referred to as ‘Daily Scripture Interpretation,’ was labeled as ‘illegal business operations’ and characterized as ‘printing and distributing illegal publications that seriously endanger social order and disrupt market order, with particularly serious circumstances,’ according to China Aid.
A trial was conducted from August 5 to 9, and during a second trial from August 19 to 30, bail was granted to siblings Zhu Longjiang and Zhu Qiaoling on August 23. Pastor Deng Yanxiang and deacon Wang Weicai remain detained at Nanhai District Detention Center.
In Linfen City, Shanxi Province, female preacher Yang Rongli from the Sola Fide network of churches marked her 66th birthday in imprisonment at Yaodu District Detention Center while awaiting trial on charges of “fraud,” as reported by Bitter Winter. After her Golden Lampstand church continued outdoor services in 2021 following the destruction of their $2.6 million worship site, Yang and several other church leaders were arrested on August 7, 2021, on charges of “fraud.”
Construction of the Golden Lampstand Cathedral began in Linfen City in 2004, but the project faced harassment from officials, including the interruption of water and electricity supplies.
On September 13, 2009, more than 500 police officers surrounded the site and its Gospel Shoe Factory, resulting in injuries to over 100 Christians. Later, on October 11, 2009, Linfen City Police arrested Yang on charges of “illegal occupation of agricultural land” and “gathering a crowd to disrupt traffic.”
She was sentenced on November 25, 2009, to seven years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan (approximately $4,245 USD). After serving her sentence in Xinkang Prison, she was released on October 10, 2016. Following the new arrest in 2021, her trial has faced multiple postponements, with an upcoming hearing scheduled for October 22 in Yaodu District Court.
According to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List, China ranks 19th among the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
