(London – August 12, 2025) Chinese lawyer Fang Xiangui, currently based in London, issued a public statement on the 9th regarding the widely followed “Wang Honglan case,” calling on the international community to pay close attention to the serious challenges it poses to religious freedom and judicial justice. At the heart of the case is an ordinary Christian who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison and fined heavily simply for selling state-approved Bibles to Christians at subsidized prices.
The case began in April 2021, when Wang Honglan, a Christian from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, along with eight fellow Christians, was arrested on suspicion of “illegal business operations.” The “offense” they were accused of was selling legally published Bibles at prices below the market rate, as well as printing and distributing some gospel booklets. Attorney Fang Xiangui stressed that these acts were entirely for the public benefit of spreading the faith and involved no profit motive. However, prosecution portrayed the group as an “organized criminal group” with a case value exceeding 40 million yuan, naming Wang Honglan as the “principal offender.”
After four years of proceedings, the Huimin District Court in Hohhot City issued its verdict on April 10, 2025, convicting Wang Honglan and others of illegal business operations. Wang Honglan was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison and fined one million yuan. Once the ruling was out, it fueled public skepticism over how Chinese law defines the boundary between religious activity and illegal commercial conduct.
A Collision Between Religious Freedom and Legal Ambiguity
The central point of contention in this case is whether non-profit actions taken for religious purposes can still be deemed “illegal business operations” under China’s current legal system. According to the Criminal Law, the charge of “illegal business operations” typically targets unlicensed, profit-driven commercial activity. However, the Bibles sold by Wang Honglan and others were state-approved publications, and the sales were of a subsidized nature, without any profit motive.
“Strictly speaking, Wang Honglan and the others were not engaged in a commercial Bible distribution operation; they had no intention of making a profit,” said Lawyer Fang.
“This is more akin to a faith-based public service, no different in essence from government-subsidized programs to bring household appliances to rural areas.”
This perspective highlights the essence of the case: it is not a typical economic crime, but rather a result of overextending legal interpretation into the realm of religious practice. The court and prosecution’s reading of “distribution” under the Regulations on the Administration of Publication appears to have deviated from its original intent, forcing a religious group’s faith-driven activity into the scope of criminal prosecution.
Questions Over Judicial Fairness
Lawyer Fang’s statement also revealed a series of troubling details during the trial process, further intensifying concerns over judicial fairness.
For example, a pre-trial meeting scheduled for May 8, 2023, was abruptly cut short because Public security, procuratorial, and judicial personnel arrived late. The following day, the court suddenly forced the trial to proceed, raising doubts about procedural legitimacy. Disturbingly, lawyer Fang himself faced stalking and harassment by unidentified individuals on the eve of the hearing, and even found the lock on his residence tampered with; these acts are seen as serious violations of a lawyer’s normal right to practice.
Moreover, during the trial, the court refused to admit evidence materials regarding the defendants’ religious background, showing a lack of basic respect and understanding of faith culture. This fueled further public concerns over the independence and neutrality of the verdict.
The Cost of Faith, the Challenge for the System
The Wang Honglan case is not an isolated incident, but a reflection of the tension between religious freedom and legal boundaries in China. In an era where society is becoming increasingly diverse, how to uphold the authority of law while safeguarding citizens’ fundamental right to religious belief has become a pressing issue that China’s judicial system has to address.
Lawyer Fang Xiangui’s public statement is not only a defense of a specific case but also a sounding of an alarm to the entire system. He calls on all sectors of society to pay attention to those who suffer injustice because of their faith, and to work together toward a more just, tolerant, and inclusive rule-of-law environment.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai for ChinaAid)
