(Liaocheng, Shandong province, China) Police raided the commencement of Fountain Church. The ceremony was organized for Christian college students who graduated this year.
ChinaAid source
An anonymous Christian disclosed the case while raising online prayer support. Many co-workers of the church lost telecommunication services. Meanwhile, Fountain Church’s WeChat groups were disabled. Zhang Hezeng, the leader of the church, was taken away. His whereabouts are unknown.
Recent crackdowns
Crackdowns on churches occurred frequently in the past few weeks. New harassment against churches occurs almost every week across the country. It is just a glimpse of the religious freedom unfolding in the past few years. Pastors, preachers, deacons, elders, and lay believers have all been arrested. Authorities use various new charges to arrest Christians.
Illegal proceedings
Furthermore, many Christians are prohibited from meeting with attorneys after their arrest, which is illegal. Police tend to bypass China’s Constitution by arguing that these cases are “national security” concerns. Also, courts consistently delay trials and verdicts, which leads to long detentions.
~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Contributing Reporter
