(Hefei, Anhui Province – July 25, 2024) It has been reported that a pre-trial conference for the case against Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu of Ganquan Church in Hefei, Anhui province, charged on suspicion of “fraud,” will be held on July 31, 2024. Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu were arrested on November 30, 2023, and have been detained for nearly 8 months. On that morning, 16 Christians from the church, including Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu, were unexpectedly subjected to home searches by public security officers and taken into custody on suspicion of “fraud”. Subsequently, 14 brothers and sisters were gradually released or granted bail out pending trial, while Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu remained in detention.
On May 14, 2024, the Shushan District People’s Procuratorate of Hefei City filed public prosecution against Elder Ding Zhongfu and Pastor Zhou Songlin. The indictment states:
This court believes that the defendants Ding Zhongfu and Zhou Songlin, with the purpose of illegal possession, fraudulently obtained more than ￥3.39 million yuan from others under the guise of religion, an especially large amount. Their actions have violated Article 266 and Article 25 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China. The criminal facts are clear, and the evidence is reliable and sufficient. They should be held criminally responsible for the crime of fraud. According to Article 176 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, public prosecution is filed, and a judgment is requested in accordance with the law.
The defense lawyers argue that Ding Zhongfu and Zhou Songlin did not engage in any deceptive behavior as defined by the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, had no intention of illegally possessing the property of believers, and the believers did not develop any misconceptions due to any actions by Ding Zhongfu and Zhou Songlin. Ding Zhongfu and Zhou Songlin never obtained any property; the property belongs to the church collectively, not to any individual. The tithe offerings made by believers are a natural expression of fulfilling their Christian obligations. Therefore, Ding Zhongfu and Zhou Songlin cannot be accused of fraud for criminal responsibility.
Hefei Ganquan Church is a house church with over twenty years of history, growing from a small Bible study group of a few Christians to a locally influential church two decades later. Following the two-thousand-year tradition of Christian churches, Ganquan Church operates on voluntary donations from believers, with strict financial supervision and regular public disclosure. The purchase of gathering venue property was decided by a co-workers’ assembly, with several co-workers jointly holding ownership, and legal procedures were followed, including video notarization, to prove that the property belongs to the church. The church began facing persecution due to its insistence on maintaining its status as a house church.
Since the arrest of Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu, other believers in the church have been continuously questioned and threatened by police, who demand that they accuse their pastors. Their wives have been accused of causing division within the church for hiring Zhang Kai and Li Guisheng, two Christian lawyers who have previously handled multiple church cases. There were demands for the wives to dismiss these two lawyers, which they firmly refused. Subsequently, several co-workers publicly announced their departure from the church. Both wives, the lawyers, and Pastor Zhou Songlin himself have responded to this. Pastor Zhou Songlin said, “In fact, this is political persecution. We didn’t actively engage in politics, but were forced into it, only to realize the church is not in a political vacuum.”
