(Hubei – September 2, 2025) In recent days, a significant case involving a Christian group in Suizhou, Hubei Province, has gone to a concentrated trial, with nearly 30 local Christians charged with “organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.” The case has drawn widespread attention from society, with defense lawyers generally contending that it is a typical instance of religious persecution and a wrongful prosecution.
Mass Trial of Suizhou Christians Sparks Legal and Public Concern
According to reports, local authorities split the case into multiple separate trials and filed charges against all involved. All defendants have hired lawyers who are entering pleas of not guilty. Lawyers argued that religious practices are consistent with the constitutional right of citizens to freedom of religion, and that the prosecution’s charges lack legal basis.
During the hearings, several defendants stated that cash, jewelry, and other belongings they carried when arrested had gone missing. The case-handling unit did not issue receipts for confiscated items, raising serious suspicions of private appropriation.
Routine Church Activities Labeled as “Heretical”
The Christian group in question is “Word of Life Church,” also known as the “All Ranges Church”. According to the indictment, the church’s routine religious activities, including preaching, discipleship training, prayer meetings, Easter gatherings, “Happiness Groups,” communion services, and testimony sharing, were characterized as “propagating heretical fallacies.” The prosecution also listed common discipleship materials such as “Experience God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God,” “New Life,” “The Way of Discipleship,” as evidence of “falsely using the name of Christianity and distorting doctrine.”
These teaching materials are widely used in churches across China and abroad and are broadly recognized by the universal church as jointly recognized Christian resources. The prosecution’s characterization is entirely detached from reality, constitutes a misinterpretation of Christianity, and an infringement on religious freedom.
List of Defendants and Their Backgrounds
It is revealed that the 28 prosecuted believers have been named as Liu Xuxue, Su Ming’ai, Wang Xueli, Zhou Xiaoxuan, Zhang Manli, Chen Chuanzhen, Yang Pingping, Li Zhuanyun, Ren Jianhua, Qiu Huiming, Song Yude, Ma Fuxiu, Fan Hongyan, Zeng Xinhui, Yang Jirong, Chen Xiuqin, Wang Yiqin, Zhang Daojiang, Wang Daozhou, Li Jing, Cai Wu, Yang Zhijin, Tang Shunqiang, Hu Junling, Liu Yongshan, Yang Hengqin, Guo Mingjun, and Zhou Xiunong.
Threefold Visions Mischaracterized as Threat to Social Order
The church’s pastor, Jonathan Chao (Zhao Tian’en), had put forward “Threefold Visions” aimed at encouraging believers to serve society and live out their faith actively. Authorities, however, regarded this as a factor that was a potential threat to social order. The church’s marriage counseling and matchmaking services were also alleged to carry “improper motives.” Observers criticize these accusations as logically far-fetched and misinterpreted, reflecting law enforcement organs’ one-sided understanding of religious affairs.
At present, the case is still under trial.
Word of Life’s core beliefs fall within the evangelical tradition. China’s Ministry of Public Security has in the past targeted Zhao Tian’en’s “Threefold Visions” and church groups who aligned with it, and appears not to have corrected its misclassification to this day.
Christmas Day Charges and Nationwide Persecution
On December 25, 2024, Christmas Day, a procuratorate in the Tibet Autonomous Region filed criminal charges against 10 Christians of the Word of Life Church. Separately, five pastors and coworkers of the Shenyang Sai Er Te Young Adults Fellowship, Pastor Mingdao, Brother Wang Xiangchao, Brother Shao, Sister Liu, and Sister Gu, who are also affiliated with Word of Life Church, were charged with “organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.” These incidents have drawn close attention from advocates and institutions inside of China and abroad, concerned with global religious freedom.
China Aid Association
Relevant Coverage:
Five Co-Workers from A Young Adults Fellowship in Shenyang Detained on “Cult” Charges; Family Members Plead for Help
Chinese Pastor from Shenyang Arrested on “Cult” Charges, Highlighting Challenges to Religious Freedom
Elderly House Church Christian Yang Zhijin Arrested on cult charges
The Bureau handles the Suizhou Church case in Hubei separately, and the accusations are absurd
Comprehensive report: Chinese Communist Party authorities launch large-scale persecution of the “All Ranges Church” in China
The “Suizhou Church Case” in Hubei: Yang Zhijin and Nine Other Members of the “All Ranges Church” Face Formal Prosecution
