Note: After further reporting, Pastor Deng and three co-workers were arrested, not four. The article has been edited to reflect this change.
(Shunde, Guangdong province) Police raided the Shengjia Christian Education and Help Center in Shunde City, Guangdong province on May 24th. Authorities searched the building and confiscated all teaching supplies. Three co-workers and Pastor Deng were arrested.
Families receive notices
On May 25th, all their families received criminal detention notices. Each Christian was given a 30-day criminal detention for “illegal business operations.” Pastor Deng and the other co-workers were detained at Shunde Nanhai District Detention Center.
Raid on the center
On May 24 at 8:30 AM, a few dozen police officers, national security officers, and religious affairs personnel suddenly broke into the Christian Education and Help Center. They flooded into the office and searched the center, prying open doors and searching through personal belongings. The search ended in the afternoon as police took computers, desks, chairs, and coloring books. Once they sealed the door, officers dispersed everyone else who was present.
Pastor Deng’s wife
Shaoting, Preacher Deng’s wife, received a phone call that morning. Dispatch told Shaoting that the police took her husband to the station, so she needed to take care of his parents at home. Then, the phone call suddenly ended. Shaoting thought that her husband was being interrogated and thought he would return home soon.
An official case
That same afternoon, some staff of the Help Center returned home, but there was no sign of Pastor Deng. Later, his wife learned that four employees of the Christian Education and Help Center were arrested, including her husband. Shaoting went with some others to the Daliang police station and requested more details about Pastor Deng. The station told them that the notice would be available within 24 hours. The next day, Shaoting and other families received the message that four employees including Pastor Deng must serve a 30-day criminal detention.
Deng’s character
Pastor Deng’s wife said that her husband is a devout Christian with a good reputation at his church. He cares and ministers for his brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of the tenants living in their complex speak highly of him, and Shaoting attests that Deng is a good husband and father. “How come he is detained at the detention center?” she asked in a social media post.
Uncertain conditions in the detention center
On May 26, Shaoting deliveredPastor Deng’s clothes at the detention center. She asked the police to pass along a bible to her husband. They refused and told her that Preacher Deng had blisters on his back due to infection and inflammation. Shaoting was not told if he could get medical treatment.
Letters to prisoners
However, she sent along some letters to her imprisoned husband. One of them reads:
“All these happened to us with God’s goodwill and for the good of us. Honey, you retreat into God with peace and enjoy the rest while being detained. We can take good care of ourselves, strive to preach the gospel, and wait for you to come back!”
~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Contributing Reporter
