(SHAANXI, CHINA — Oct. 20, 2026) — Police shoved a human rights lawyer from a courthouse and seized another attorney’s phone as they challenged the prosecution of Christian leaders in northwestern China, according to the lawyers. The confrontation highlighted continuing concerns about religious freedom and due process.
The incident occurred Sept. 15 at the Beilin District People’s Court in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, during a pretrial conference for Pastor Tang Bingyi. He and two other leaders of Light of Zion Church face fraud charges related to church offerings.
The other defendants are Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu. ChinaAid previously reported that prosecutors are seeking 12 to 13 years in prison for Gao in a case his family says criminalizes voluntary Christian giving.
According to a statement from the legal team, seven human rights lawyers — Wang Yu, Bao Longjun, Jiang Tianyong, Wang Quanzhang, Lu Siwei, Chang Weiping and Peng Yonghe — visited the district court to raise concerns about the handling of Tang’s pretrial conference.
Court officers stopped the lawyers at the entrance. Although Bao passed security, police shoved him and forcibly removed him from the courthouse, the team said. When Wang tried to record the officers’ conduct on her phone, police confiscated the device.
During subsequent discussions, the presiding judge, surnamed Luo, acknowledged that an extension of the proceedings had been approved, according to the lawyers. However, when questioned about the failure to notify the defense as required by law, Luo reportedly said the court had “no obligation to notify.”
The lawyers had also visited the Xi’an Intermediate People’s Court to file a complaint. A judge surnamed Gao said he was “short on time” and instructed them to contact the judge responsible for the case directly, according to the legal team.
Complaints to multiple agencies
On Sept. 14, the seven lawyers and three Christian clients visited five government offices in Xi’an to submit complaints about the prosecution. Their stops included the Xi’an People’s Procuratorate, the Intermediate People’s Court and the city’s petitioning center.
The lawyers alleged improper case assignments, missed statutory deadlines and detention beyond legal limits. They also accused the Xi’an Public Security Bureau’s Beilin Branch of having “manufactured victims in batches” by identifying multiple believers as fraud victims.
The lawyers said they would release evidence supporting the allegation at an appropriate time. Previous ChinaAid reporting has detailed disputes over the prosecution’s identification of alleged fraud victims in the Light of Zion Church case.
During the Sept. 14 visits, staff at the petitioning office of the Xi’an Municipal Supervisory Commission refused to accept complaint materials, citing lack of jurisdiction or the need for evidence of a crime, according to the lawyers.
After a prolonged dispute, the lawyers called a reporting hotline to accuse reception staff of dereliction of duty. At the Xi’an People’s Procuratorate, staff eventually agreed to forward their materials to the procurator-general, who was unavailable to receive them in person.
In their statement, the lawyers questioned the gap between official government slogans and adherence to the law. They argued that public officials derive their authority from taxpayers and should remain accountable to the public and established legal procedures.
Church offerings at center of fraud case
In China, unregistered Protestant house churches operate outside the government’s sanctioned religious system. As authorities tightened control over religious activities, advocates raised concerns about criminal prosecutions that treat church offerings and other routine ministry practices as fraud.
Chinese authorities detained Gao and other Light of Zion Church leaders beginning in May 2025. Prosecutors brought fraud charges against Gao, Pang and Tang between late 2025 and early 2026, handling them as separate cases.
More than eight months after the cases were brought for prosecution, the proceedings have not concluded. The lawyers allege that authorities have exceeded statutory time limits and unlawfully prolonged the defendants’ detention.
ChinaAid founder Bob Fu said the prosecution reflects a broader strategy against independent Christian congregations.
“The authorities interpret religious offerings as fraud and use tactics such as splitting cases and delaying proceedings to dismantle the organizational networks of underground churches while making it more difficult for defendants and their families to obtain legal remedies,” Fu said.
The lawyers said they would continue filing formal complaints over the alleged courthouse mistreatment and procedural violations. The cases against Gao, Pang and Tang remain unresolved, raising concerns about the legal rights of independent church leaders in China.
Gao Zhensai is a special correspondent for ChinaAid News. Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.