(Shunde, Guangdong province – 10/28/2024) On October 23, 2024, the Shunde District People’s Court in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, made the decision to release Deacon Wang Weicai of Shunde Shengjia Church on bail pending trial. Wang Weicai reunited with his family after leaving the detention center that day. Of the five Christians charged with “illegal business operations” from his church, four have now been released on bail, with only Preacher Deng Yanxiang still in custody.
Persecution and Community Support at Shengjia Church
Shengjia Church has faced persecution for refusing to join the government-sanctioned Three-Self church. On May 24, 2023, the church was raided by multiple Shunde departments including public security, religious affairs, education, and industry and commerce. Preacher Deng Yanxiang, Deacon Zhu Longjiang, Deacon Wang Weicai, and Zhu Qiaoling were arrested by Shunde police on suspicion of “illegal business operations”. On August 9, 2023, Elder Zhu Longfei was arrested under the charge of “illegal business operations.”
After the five co-workers were arrested, their families and many church members publicly advocated for them, stating they were all kind and upright Christians who had not committed any crimes but were rather valuable members of their families, church, and society. They requested the prompt release of the five co-workers and restoration of their reputation. One church member described Wang Weicai:
“Brother Wang Weicai often drives around helping others. He’s very enthusiastic – whenever I need help transporting something, before I even ask, he’s already delivered it to our door. When I want to offer him a cup of tea, he’s already gone to help others before I can serve it. He seems to always be on the road, tirelessly and happily helping. Later I discovered that both he and Sister Hong (Wang Weicai’s wife) have this same character. They make us feel so warm, and while we enjoy it, we don’t know how to repay their kindness, we can only pray God to bless their family more.”
Court Trials of Wang Weicai: A Struggle for Justice
The first trial of this case was held at the Shunde District Court from August 5 to August 9, 2024. During the first trial, lawyers noticed that Wang Weicai appeared physically weak. Wang testified in court that he previously had high income selling veterinary medicine, but after becoming a Christian and experiencing life transformation, he gave up his business to serve the church, believing God would remember and bless him.
The second trial lasted 11 days from August 19 to August 30. On the first day of the second trial, there was intense debate between the prosecution and defense, with defense lawyers pointing out that all evidence provided by the prosecution was unsound, mostly obtained illegally, and full of errors and contradictions. Wang Weicai questioned whether this was really a case of “illegal business operations” or Christians doing charity work illegally, saying:
“We were just doing good deeds and helping people, how did we end up getting arrested? You can see in the chat records that Preacher Deng Yanxiang asked for my help very politely, saying ‘thank you’ and ‘could you help,’ so there was no hierarchical relationship – we were all equal. I just helped with receiving and sending packages, and sometimes would ask courier drivers or others to help – if I’m guilty, wouldn’t they be guilty too?”
Given that the amounts and quantities of Wang Weicai’s alleged involvement in printing didn’t reach 20%, the defense lawyers applied for bail that day, which was finally approved today.
Moments of Joy: The Release of Wang Weicai
On August 23, 2024, during the fifth day of the second trial, the court announced that Zhu Longjiang and Zhu Qiaoling were granted bail. On October 8, 2024, the Shunde District People’s Court also decided to release Elder Zhu Longfei on bail. That afternoon, Zhu Longfei’s wife, family, and Shengjia Church Christians welcomed him at the detention center with flowers.
Today, Wang Weicai’s wife, the previously released Zhu Longfei, Zhu Longjiang, Zhu Qiaoling, and church members welcomed Wang Weicai with flowers. They printed a welcome banner with Wang Weicai’s photo and the words “Welcome Home,” “Welcome Home Brother Wang Weicai,” and “Fight the good fight for the truth, having made good testimony.” Everyone posed for photos together, holding flowers and the welcome banner, smiling.
Video of church members welcoming Wang Weicai’s release on bail
(Reported by special correspondent Ningmeng for ChinaAid)
