Urgent Prayer Request as Ganquan Church Trial Approaches
(Xi’an, Shaanxi, China – May 28, 2025) On the evening of May 23, 2025, Wei Shudie, wife of Pastor Zhou Songlin from Hefei Ganquan Church, issued an urgent prayer request letter, revealing that as the trial date for the Ganquan church case approaches, the church from top to bottom has been receiving threatening warnings from relevant local government departments, with the purpose of preventing everyone from appearing in court to testify.
Coordinated Pressure Campaign Intensifies
The prayer request letter states that as the trial date for the Ganquan church case approaches (May 26-28), the “war” smoke has already risen everywhere. From Monday to yesterday (May 19-22), especially on the 21st and 22nd, various forces have intensively launched their offensive. First was pressure on the so-called “victims.” Through community management offices and police stations calling and visiting homes to threaten and intimidate, the purpose is to prevent them from appearing in court to testify. This even involved pressure through the workplace, threatening: “If you go, the consequences will be serious, it will affect your job and your children’s future.” Such “attention” came several times a day for consecutive days (at least 2 days), taking turns, leaving people physically and mentally exhausted with enormous pressure.
Believers Visited, Photographed, and Threatened
Then came obstruction of believers. During 21st and 22nd, multiple districts in Hefei City mobilized large numbers of personnel to launch obstruction work against believers. Many people were visited at home by people from community management offices and police stations (3-5 people), with some responsible for taking photos and others for lecturing, using the pretext of “for your own good” to prevent them from attending the trial, even threatening: “If you don’t consider yourself, you should consider your children and grandchildren.” They also intimidated by saying: “Go one, arrest one.” (said by someone from Hefei Baohe District), thereby causing opposition and pressure from family members who have not yet believed in the Lord.
Family Members Targeted to Exert Emotional Pressure
Some people called the believers’ family members (husbands, children, parents), threatening and intimidating them, bringing panic to family members, causing confrontational emotions, and creating a tense atmosphere, in order to use family members who have not yet believed in the Lord to prevent them from going to the court.
Harassment at Home and Late-Night Questioning
For example, on the evening of May 22, 4 people went to a female believer’s home. Her husband was at home, and because she had something to do, she came home very late. They kept waiting at her home, causing her husband to make phone call after phone call. After she arrived home, that group of people took her to a place (not a legal interrogation location) and questioned her until 2 AM. Before leaving, they also said: “We’ll look for you again tomorrow.”
Others were threatened with: “From Monday to Wednesday next week (26th to 28th), we’ll send people to watch you.”
Wei Shudie said, “According to legal provisions: trials are public and can be attended, attendance is a citizen’s right; but I don’t know why there is such large-scale, high-intensity, intensive obstruction and strict prevention for this trial?”
A Call for Prayer and Courage
She earnestly requests Christians to pray for this! May the Lord strengthen everyone’s hearts and may the Lord’s name be glorified in this land!
(China Aid special correspondent Ningmeng reporting)