(Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) A pretrial conference was held for the case of Christians charged with “illegal business operations” for selling bibles. A formal trial is expected to be held in late April, spanning three weeks.
Background
66-year-old Wang Honglan and several other Christians were arrested on April 14, 2021, under the change of “illegal business operations.” Altogether, the authorities arrested 12 individuals, including Wang’s 73-year-old husband, her younger son, and her nephew. Three of the Christians were released on bail while the other nine await their trial.
The prisoners
These nine Christians have been imprisoned for nearly two years. Liu Wei and Liu Minna are a married couple. The wife Liu Minna has heart disease, which worsened in the detention center.
An illegal business with no profit
Officials have suggested a 15-year sentence for Wang Honglan because the total sales amount exceeded ¥40 million (~$5,818,774). In reality, Wang and other co-workers used some donations to offer the bibles to Christians in need. They did not profit from selling the bibles at all. They ordered all of them from a government-sanctioned Three-Self church in Nanjing.
Wang Honglan
Wang Honglan became a Christian when she was 24 years old. She has been serving her church since then. Other members of her church are also devoted. In the past 30 years, they held a morning prayer meeting every day at 6 AM. The morning prayer meeting never stopped for a single day, regardless of any weather conditions.
The following is brief information on the arrested Christians:
- Wang Honglan, 66 years old, church leader. She has several medical conditions: cerebral infarction, heart disease, spermatic cord tumor, purpura, and kidney stone.
- Ji Heying, 73 years old, is Wang Honglan’s husband. He has high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Ji Guolong, Wang Honglan, and Ji Heying’s son.
- Wang Jiale, Wang Honglan’s nephew.
- Liu Wei and his wife Liu Minna. Liu Minna has heart disease.
- Zhang Wang.
- Yang Zhijun (his wife Yu Lina was released on bail. They have 1 child).
- Ban Yanhong, 63 years old.
~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Special Reporter
