(Shanxi – June 27, 2025) China’s house churches continue to suffer persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Recently, over ten members of the “Golden Lampstand Church” and the “Covenant House Church” in Linfen, Shanxi Province, were given harsh sentences by the court on charges of “fraud.” Pastor Bob Fu, founder and president of the U.S.-based ChinaAid, stated in an interview with Radio Taiwan International that the CCP’s charges are entirely fabricated. He expressed hope that the Trump administration would speak out in support of China’s house churches and raise these persecution cases in future negotiations between the U.S. and China.
Refusal to Join “Three-Self” Leads to Persecution: Church Members Receive Heavy Sentences
For a long time, many house churches in China have faced crackdowns for refusing to join the state-sanctioned “Three-Self Patriotic Movement.” Among them, the “Golden Lampstand Church” and the “Covenant House Church” in Linfen, Shanxi have been subjected to prolonged persecution, with multiple Church members arbitrarily detained for years.
Recently, local courts sentenced more than ten members of these two churches to heavy prison terms. Reportedly, Li Shuangping, a deacon of Golden Lampstand Church, received the harshest sentence, nine years and two months in prison. Li Jie, a pastor of Covenant House Church, and preacher Han Xiaodong were each sentenced to three years and eight months. Speaking on the Radio Taiwan International program Serving the People – Yang Xianhong’s Time, Pastor Bob Fu pointed out that these two house churches were targeted simply because they refused to join the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. He noted that Golden Lampstand Church founders Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli have already suffered persecution for over twenty years and are now being labeled a “fraud ring.”
Pastor Bob Fu further explained the absurdity of the verdict: “This judgment actually states that they are a fraud ring because they ‘illegally used an unregistered organization’ to carry out illegal religious activities. Why are they considered an illegal religious organization? One of the reasons cited is that after 1992, Pastors Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli were expelled from the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and thus lost their preaching qualifications. So, any preaching they did afterward is considered part of an illegal organization.”
Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli Likely to Face Even Harsher Sentences
Pastor Bob Fu revealed that in addition to the more than ten church members who have already received heavy sentences, internal sources indicate that Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang are expected to be sentenced to fifteen and eight years in prison, respectively.
Pastor Fu stated, “Internally, the court has already decided to sentence Pastor Yang Rongli to fifteen years in prison, and as for her husband, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, is reportedly sentenced to eight years. In the CCP’s court system, the party decides the verdict behind closed doors first, and the judge is just there to go through the motions.”
He emphasized that Yang Rongli had already served seven years in prison previously, and now, after being arbitrarily arrested again, she is facing another fifteen-year sentence. He believes this could be the harshest judgment against house churches by the CCP in nearly two decades. All charges, he said, are fabricated. Authorities have treated Christians’ offerings as fraudulent funds, and over 17 million RMB, accumulated over the years from more than 50,000 Christians across various regions, has been attributed entirely to Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang.
Authorities Exhaust All Coercive Measures; Presiding Judge Also Becomes “Accomplice”
Pastor Bob Fu stated that the authorities even used torture to coerce a group of Christians into giving false testimony in court. He explained, “The church’s practice of tithing has a 2,000-year history. In churches all over the world, whether Catholic or Protestant, tithing is taught in the Bible. It is a part of Christians’ worship of God and their service in the church. It is entirely voluntary, and no one forces them to give.
But the CCP’s tactics went even further. Pastor Bob Fu noted that the presiding judge personally approached the families of the accused one by one, using threats and inducements to pressure them into dismissing their original defense lawyers and replacing them with government-appointed attorneys. Furthermore, the court packed the gallery with people it arranged to attend, occupying all available seats and causing the families of Li Jie and Han Xiaodong to be detained when they attempted to observe the trial.
Pastor Fu emphasized, “(The authorities) insisted on appointing government-designated lawyers to collaborate with the state in staging this grand drama of religious persecution. This clearly violates China’s own laws, as well as international human rights law and the principles of judicial independence and impartiality. The authorities hope to use this high-profile case as a warning to others, to intimidate and threaten the broader house church movement in China.”
Calling for International Support, Hoping for Trump Administration’s Intervention
For over a decade, ChinaAid Association has been dedicated to supporting religious freedom in China. Pastor Fu stated that he recently raised the issue of the CCP’s persecution of house churches during his participation in the International Religious Freedom Summit, aiming to encourage the international community to take a clear stance on the matter. He added that he will continue discussions with the U.S. executive branch and members of Congress to consider stronger and more effective responses.
He pointed out that during his first term, President Trump regarded religious freedom as one of the most important priorities in U.S. foreign policy. Now, ChinaAid is intensifying its advocacy, hoping the Trump administration will include the issue of China’s house churches in the agenda of future negotiations between the U.S. and China.
(China Aid Association)
