Visit to Li Chenhui at Xi’an Women’s Prison
(Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China – March 19, 2025) According to Chang Shengyi, on March 17, 2025, he and his younger brother visited their mother Li Chenhui, who has been in prison for more than four years, at Xi’an Women’s Prison. Li Chenhui and her husband Pastor Chang Yuchun were sentenced to 7 years in prison for printing Christian books.
In prison, Li Chenhui has been experiencing frequent dizziness since November 2023, having fainted multiple times while working in the kitchen, and experiencing headaches when lying down to sleep if her position is not correct. After reporting her condition to the prison, the guards said they would arrange a CT scan for her, but after 1 year and 5 months, she still hasn’t had the examination. Chang Shengyi raised this issue with the section chief of the prison ward, who said they would verify the situation quickly and determine the next steps.
The Case of Li Chenhui and Chang Yuchun
Li Chenhui, originally named Li Jingrou, was imprisoned for helping her husband Pastor Chang Yuchun print Christian books and materials for churches. Both Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui are baptized Christians of many years. In 2015, they registered and established Guangyi Aisheng Printing Co., Ltd., with Chang Yuchun as the legal representative and Li Chenhui as the company supervisor.
Since its establishment, the company has printed and sold a large number of Christian books to house churches in mainland China for purchase and use. These Christian books are normally published and sold in other countries but are banned from publication and sale in China. The printing factory operated by the Chang Yuchun couple took risks to print Christian books that met the needs of many churches.
The Arrest and Sentencing of Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui
On July 21, 2020, Xi’an Cultural Law Enforcement Department, together with Xi’an National Security Department, sealed and inspected Guangyi Aisheng Printing Company, seizing more than 210,000 religious books on site. They identified 24 books, including “Reformed Faith,” as illegal publications.
On July 22, 2020, Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui were placed under “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” by the police of Gaoling District, Xi’an, on suspicion of “subversion of state power“; on October 12 of the same year, they were criminally detained on suspicion of “illegal business operations”; on October 22 of the same year, Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui were approved for arrest by the Gaoling District Procuratorate of Xi’an on the same charge; on October 23 of the same year, Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui were formally arrested, with Chang Yuchun detained in the Gaoling District Detention Center in Xi’an and Li Chenhui detained in the Weiyang District Detention Center in Xi’an.
On August 19, 2021, the Gaoling District Court of Xi’an sentenced Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui to 7 years in prison for “illegal business operations” in the first instance trial, and fined them 250,000 yuan each. Pastor Chang Yuchun is serving his sentence in Xi’an Fuping Prison, and Li Chenhui is serving her sentence in Xi’an Women’s Prison.
Chang Yuchun’s Torture
On March 6, 2025, when Chang Shengyi brought his younger brother to visit their father Chang Yuchun in prison, he learned that his father Chang Yuchun had been tortured during “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” and had long suffered beatings from prison bullies and extortion of money by criminal forces in prison. Chang Shengyi immediately filed a complaint with Fuping Prison.
On March 10, the prison called and asked him to come immediately to investigate the situation. Chang Shengyi and his brother went to Fuping Prison together. The prison police were friendly and learned from Chang Shengyi about the entire incident, process, and outcome. The prison authorities stated that they would immediately verify and handle the matter, and would immediately transfer Pastor Chang Yuchun to a safe place. After the transfer, they would have Pastor Chang Yuchun call Chang Shengyi to report that his situation.
Recent Visit and Injury Assessment
Early on March 11, 2025, Chang Shengyi received both a phone call and a text message from the prison, informing him that his father had been transferred to a new prison ward and that they would arrange for them to talk in the morning. The reason they couldn’t talk the day before was due to a malfunction in the communication system. Subsequently, they received a call from Chang Yuchun, who personally told them that he was fine and had been transferred to Ward 13, where he was now safe, and that the people who had beaten him had been detained and were under investigation.
On March 18, Chang Shengyi visited his father again and, through a small window, shook hands with his father for the first time in more than four years. He learned that his father had been transferred to a ward with relatively low staff turnover, so there was no need to worry about retribution. The prison authorities had also taken him for an injury assessment, but because the injuries were from two years ago, the assessment was difficult, resulting in three assessment agencies refusing to conduct the assessment. Chang Shengyi hopes that Christians will continue to pray for Pastor Chang Yuchun and that God will prepare an assessment agency to evaluate the injuries his father suffered.
Chang Shengyi said that after seeing his parents separately these two days, both his father and mother expressed particular gratitude for everyone’s concern and prayers for them. Sometimes they are notified of receiving letters or postcards, though unfortunately they cannot see much of the content because of the content was related to Christian faith. They also asked Chang Shengyi to send their regards to everyone.
(Reported by special correspondent Ningmeng for China Aid)