On November 25, Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church held a Thanksgiving evangelical seminar on Zoom. Shortly after the seminar began, believers heard police sirens and then elder Li Yingqiang disappeared from the video. Elder Li’s wife Zhang Xinyue told fellow Christians that police officers summoned elder Li on charges of “disturbing social order”. Fortunately, it didn’t last for long. Elder Li returned home before the seminar ended. He told everyone that they asked him some questions in the police station, took notes, and then sent him home.
During the massive crackdown against Early Rain Covenant Church in December 2018, elder Li Yingqiang was imprisoned for 8 months. Authorities released him on bail and forced back to move to his hometown. His bail period ended in August 2020. He and his family moved back to Chengdu in September 2020. Very soon, Chengdu police learned of their whereabouts and immediately started to harass his family. National security agents even assembled a temporary room in the hallway of his apartment in order to monitor his family any time. They knocked at his door every Sunday morning to summon him to the police station to prevent him from attending Sunday services. They also threatened his wife and children.
Elder Li Yingqiang hosted “Gospel During the Pandemic,” a public, evangelical seminar online while actively serving Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials announced on December 20, 2021 that the “Measures on the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services” will take effect on March 1, 2022. According to the measures, without obtaining the “Internet Religious Information Services Permits”, it’s illegal for any individual or organization to preach online. This will significantly shrink the already very narrow space for preaching the Gospel.
The CCP, unsurprisingly, prohibited any celebration of Christmas this year. Governments of Shandong Province, Anhui Province, Guangdong Province, and many others banned any celebration, citing COVID-19 and Christmas being a “foreign holiday.” Bob Fu, president and founder of ChinaAid, responded to the crackdown on Christmas with Radio Free Asia (translated from Chinese):
Government control destroys Chinese citizens’ freedom to religion
in a “lawful” way. Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of State Security intervene with normal religious events which are held online, which demonstrates that the CCP has escalated its crackdown on freedom of religion.
Despite constant persecution, elder Li’s family matured immensely since the crackdown in December 2018. When Li was taken away from his home, his 6-year-old son said to him: ”See you tonight, tomorrow, or 1 year later!”
Elder Li’s 10-year-old daughter wrote a poem after he was taken away:
In the deep dark night
Waiting for the dawn to break
God is always present
No matter day or night
In the deep dark night
Look upon the starry night
Bright start blinks
God is guiding us the way
In the deep dark night
Even among tribulation and despair
God sustains us unfailingly
He brings us comfort and hope
In the light of dawn
Emmanuel
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| Edler Li’s 11-year-old daughter wrote a poem after his arrest (Photo: ChinaAid source) |
Elder Li’s wife Zhang Xinyue wrote on her WeChat Moments:
“My daughter is 10 years old. When she was 8 years old, she cried
hard when her father was taken away. At the age of 10, she sat down quietly and wrote a poem. Is this part of her growing up?
I thank you, God, for bringing real peace to my children’s hearts.
Do you have peace in your heart tonight? If not, seek it now. God brings us peace, which cannot be taken away by anyone in the world.”
Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church’s Christmas Eve online evangelical seminar happened as scheduled. More than 300 Christians and faith seekers attended the online seminar. At the moment, there is still no news about elder Li’s situation.
~ Yu Bing, China Aid Special Reporter