(Shanxi, China) Zhao Weikai, a coworker of Zion Reformed Church, has not been tried since authorities arrested him for terrorism on July 7.
Zhao Weikai, 36 years old, is a coworker at Zion Reformed Church and a close friend with Minister An Yankui. They attended West China Seminary together and returned to Taiyuan to do ministry together. Zhao Weikai and his wife Li Xin decided to homeschool their three children to avoid atheistic brainwashing in public education. The local Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, Bureau of Education, and national security officers asked to speak with the couple multiple times. They threatened to send the kids to public school and arrest Zhao, but he refused to comply.
About 20 police officers came to Zhao Weikai’s home last May and took him and Li Xin away. They searched his house for several hours, confiscating over 1,000 books, cell phones, computers, hard discs, and thumb drives without a legal warrant or confiscation list. Li Xin, Zhao Weikai’s wife, was taken away after they searched their home and confiscated their possessions. Li Xin returned later that day, but Zhao Weikai was given the 15-day administrative detention. The local Bureau of Public Security refused to issue his wife the “administrative penalty decision” and “prison release certificate” regarding the administrative penalty in attempts to deter them from requesting administrative reconsideration.
During the search, police found that Zhao Weikai’s hard drive contained documentaries about Tiananmen Square Massacre and Xinjiang riots. On July 20, police arrested Zhao Weikai on the charge of possessing items about terrorism and extremism. Zhao Weikai is detained at a detention center located in Fangshan county, Lvxiang region, Shanxi province.
Over the last year, Zhao’s court case faced many obstacles from the presiding Judge and Court. The case was sent to Lvliang Intermediate People’s Court in September 2021. The attorney representing Zhao Weikai has reached out to Judge Liu who handles the case but never heard back. Lvliang Intermediate Court responded to the attorney, telling him that they could not process the case due to the backlog. The attorney requested to meet with Zhao Weikei during the period without success. In March 2022, COVID hit Shanghai and Beijing severely. Lvliang Intermediate Court called Li Xin, asking her to change their attorney, but she refused. Then, the case was postponed again. The court held a pretrial conference on September 9, but there has been no update since then.
Li Xin asked everyone to pray for the case, hoping that the trial would be held soon and the pandemic won’t stop the trial from happening.
~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Contributing Reporter