(Shunde, Guangdong Province – August 15, 2024) It is reported that the case of Deng Yanxiang, Wang Weicai, Zhu Longjiang, Zhu Qiaoling and Zhu Longfei, five Christians from the Shengjia Church in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong Province, who were charged with “illegal business operation”, has been going on for four days since the opening of the trial on August 5, 2024. Lawyer Guo Xiongwei, one of the representing lawyers, said that the trial of the case will not be concluded this week, and the fact that several Christians are not guilty has become increasingly clear.
August 5, 2024 was the first day of the trial of the case in the Shunde District People’s Court. It is reported that the court only agreed to allow ten family members to attend the trial and not to broadcast it online. Previously, some family members fasted and prayed, saying that no matter what the verdict was, we had already won in the Lord. The early period of the case was the most difficult. We got through it with the help of the Lord and now feel very peaceful. We are the “Pizza Hut”(winners) of heaven! Having said that, when the trial began, the brothers and sisters could not help sobbing when they saw their relatives whom they had not seen for a long time.
That morning, Elder Zhu Longfei said in court that this was a kind of religious persecution. When he was in the detention center, he asked the investigators what crime he had committed. The Public Security and the Procuratorate directly replied that it was the opinion of the leaders, and he felt very angry.
He introduced to the court that he had served in the official Three-Self Church before, but saw a lot of corruption and darkness, so he left and began to worship God with several of his family members, and Shengjia Church was formed from this. Many people who come to the church have encountered various difficulties. When asked about his faith, he explained to the judicial staff that he believed that Jesus was the son of God, resurrected from the dead, and held the kingship.
The defence lawyers questioned the prosecutors: how can the church be regarded as a criminal group and the church’s co-workers are treated all as criminal partners? In the short indictment of a few pages, most of the space is about the church, which makes it difficult for people not to feel that it is religious persecution.
In the afternoon, the prosecutor explained that the logic of the accusation was that the five people participated in printing books, not forming a church, which was equivalent to no longer identifying the church as a criminal group in disguise, but still refused to change this part of the indictment.
Lay pastor Deng Yanxiang defended himself, saying that he had no purpose of making a profit, not only did he not make a profit, but he lost money. A meeting has never been held to discuss and make a decision to print, and there was no content that seriously endangered social order and disrupted market order. It is normal that others may fabricate all kinds of bad words to slander us. He also said that those who come to the church are all led by God himself; some have experienced failed marriages, and some may be gamblers. God hopes that people will turn back, just as he once did. His income from the church is far lower than the average salary. He has helped many people with his savings. He does not serve for money.
Brother Wang Weicai is a very gentle person. He looked physically weak during the trial. He stated in court that he used to have a high income from selling veterinary drugs. After becoming a Christian, his life changed. He gave up those benefits to serve the church. He believed that God would remember and bless him.
An attorney said with emotion that although the co-workers of the Shengjia Church have lost their personal freedom, they still bear beautiful witness with their simple and clean lives. Because of faith, they are still connected to us beyond high walls. Because of hope, they will still be rewarded in heaven even if they are shackled. Because of love, they are still the apple of God’s eye even if they are imprisoned.
On the second day of the trial on August 6, 2024, some Christians from the Shengjia Church who attended the trial saw Zhu Qiaoling, whom they called “Dear Second Sister”. Zhu Qiaoling has been detained for one year, two months and thirteen days on suspicion of illegal business operations.
She looked visibly old and haggard. When she was brought into the courtroom by the bailiffs yesterday, she saw several family members who were listening to the trial. She burst into tears and could hardly stand. She was supported by the bailiffs to listen to the indictment. Today, she seemed to be more stable and could basically answer the questions of the judge, prosecutors and lawyers relatively calmly, but she choked up several times during the process.
After listening to the prosecutors and lawyers’ questions to Zhu Qiaoling, everyone felt that it was unimaginable that Zhu Qiaoling was detained for more than a year on the charge of “suspected of illegal business, serious disruption of market order, serious harm to society and particularly serious circumstances” just because she was willing to help others and helped to send and receive express parcels for free twice, and the parcels she sent and received were just dozens of small pamphlets explaining the Bible, not dangerous goods. Was all this just because she was a Christian?
According to one of the attorneys, Lawyer Guo, after a few days of trial, the fact that the client was not guilty was very obvious. We are waiting to see whether the Shunde District Court, which has the Internet celebrity president Wan Xuancai, can make a not guilty verdict in this obviously innocent case.
