(Shanxi province) Wen Huijuan, the wife of Linfen Covenant House Church staff member Wang Qiang, received the arrest notice for her husband from the local branch of the Linfen Public Security Bureau.
The notice states:
Approved by the Yaodu District People’s Procuratorate of the city, our bureau arrested Wang Qiang on suspicion of fraud at 17:00 on December 14, 2022. Wang Qiang is currently detained in the Yaodu District Detention Center of Shanxi Province.
On the morning of November 1, Wang Qiang lost contact with his family members and other members of the church. The next day, Wang Qiang’s family contacted the Public Security Bureau to ask whether they arrested him, but the Bureau did not give a straight answer. Wang Qiang’s wife, Wen Huijuan, was notified that the Linfen City Public Security Bureau placed her husband under residential surveillance at a designated location. She received an official notice of criminal detention a week later.
Since the outdoor family camp of Covenant House Church was targeted on the evening of August 19, 2022, persecution against the church by various departments increased. Two preachers of Linfen Covenant House Church, Li Jie, and Han Xiaodong, were first placed under residential surveillance at a designated location and then later sent to a detention center, where they were arrested on suspicion of “fraud.” Police pressured church leaders and members to sign documents to corroborate the falsified crime. Almost everyone from the church kept from signing any statement. However, others signed the statements due to overwhelming pressure, confirming they were “victims” of “fraud.” They also signed a pledge never to attend Linfen Covenant House Church ever again.
Photo: Wang Qiang’s arrest notice (ChinaAid source)
Wen Huijuan is more than eight months pregnant, and she needs her husband’s support. On December 15, Wen Huijuan posted an article on Weibo, How did my Christian husband become a “fraudster”? In the article, she openly questions how her kind and upright husband could be accused of “fraud” merely because he tithes to the church as a Christian. She expounded on six points, raising questions and hoping that the law would grant them justice.
~Yu Bing, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
