(Jinhua, Zhejiang — November 7, 2025) Xing Wenxiang, former pastor of the Jinhua City Christian Church in Zhejiang, has recently been released from prison. In 2016, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of “embezzlement, gathering a crowd to disturb social order, illegal business operations, and concealing accounting documents.” She was released early following a two-year sentence reduction.
The Cost of Imprisonment: White Hair and Unfulfilled Filial Duty
According to reports, before her imprisonment, Pastor Xing Wenxiang’s hair was black; however, after nearly ten years of life in prison, she returned home with a head of white hair. The decade behind bars has left visible trauma on her physical and emotional well-being.
During her sentence, Pastor Xing Wenxiang’s mother unfortunately passed away. Like many imprisoned Christians, she was not permitted to attend the funeral and bid her mother a final farewell. Upon her release, the first thing she did was visit her mother’s grave to pay her respects.
Case Review: Repression Triggered by Refusal to Remove a Cross
Pastor Xing Wenxiang’s case dates back to the large-scale campaign to remove church crosses forcibly in Zhejiang Province in 2015.
Jinhua City Christian Church is an officially recognized Three-Self church, and Xing Wenxiang’s husband, Bao Guohua, served as the senior pastor. The church’s newly constructed “Holy Love Church” in Jinhua had all the necessary permits and was legal and compliant. However, when the Zhejiang provincial government ordered the removal of church crosses, the church refused to comply with the Jinhua Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau’s directive to dismantle the cross on the top of Holy Love Church, maintaining that the building was legal.
Subsequently, the church also refused to cooperate with a financial inspection on the site of religious activity headed by the Jinhua Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau.
July 2015: Pastor Xing Wenxiang and her husband, Pastor Bao Guohua, and ten other church coworkers were suddenly detained by local police and placed under criminal arrest. They were accused of charges such as “embezzling offering funds and illegally operating the church.”
February 25, 2016: The Wucheng District Court of Jinhua City handed down its first-instance judgment. Pastor Xing Wenxiang was sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with fines and confiscation of assets. Her husband, Pastor Bao Guohua, was sentenced to 14 years. The remaining ten church management staff and Christians received suspended sentences.
This series of cases drew widespread international attention at that time regarding religious freedom and the fairness of legal proceedings in China.
Her Husband Remains Imprisoned
According to sources, Pastor Xing Wenxiang’s husband, Pastor Bao Guohua, is still serving his sentence.
After Pastor Xing Wenxiang’s release from prison, her current physical health and the marks left by ten years behind bars have once again brought public concern and discussion to human rights conditions in Chinese prisons.
Reported by Special Correspondent Ning Meng for ChinaAid