The Fushan House Church in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, has been attacked repeatedly by the Chinese Government since September 2009. Fushan Church is one of 30 branches of the 50,000 member Linfen House Church network in Shanxi, a northern Chinese province.
On September 13, before dawn, the Chinese Communist government sent a mob of 400 police officers, local government officials, and hired thugs to destroy all the property of Linfen Fushan Church. It didn’t matter to them that church members were sleeping at the property to keep watch over new construction that was taking place. The attack on the church’s property was preceded by an attack on the church’s people. Over 20 of the church members were severely injured, requiring hospitalization. As a parting shot, the government instructed the hospital to refuse them blood transfusions, forcing them to be moved to another hospital.
The mob then turned their attack on the church’s property. When church members returned, they found their new church building bulldozed to rubble. The government-sponsored attack had also devastated 17 buildings of the church’s Good News Cloth Shoes Factory and all the appliances, furniture, televisions, Bibles, and church documents. China Aid says that these attacks, “marked the climax of a long-burning hatred by local officials for the vibrant and socially-conscious Linfen House Church community.” When the house church leaders called on the government to pay for the damages and issue an apology, the Fushan government responded with further oppression. State police guards were installed at some of Linfen’s many house church sites, the doors were barred, and church members were banned from coming to worship. In addition, water, electricity, and all communication were cut off from neighboring churches.
After word went out about the attacks, China Aid says that at a September 19, 2009 meeting with the chief pastor, Yang Rongli and two other church staff, the Fushan government agreed to pay 1.4 million Yuan (approx. $200,000) in damages and allow Linfen Fushan Church to rebuild. But they refused to release church member Shan Yongchang, who had sent word of the attack with a text message, or to lift the ban on the neighboring house churches.
China Aid continues: “Unwilling to be bought for their silence, Head Pastor Yang Rongli refused the payment, and decided to bring the church’s complaints to the central governing authorities in Taiyuan City, capital of Shanxi. Joined by six other church staff (including her husband Wang Xiaoguang) Yang Rongli attempted to leave for Taiyuan on September 25 to file their claim, but was detained without cause by the local police….They held all seven Linfen House Church network leaders without formal charge to allegedly “prevent disturbing the social order.” …The crackdown continued on September 26th, when state military police arrived at the doors of Jin Dongtai (Golden Lampstand ) Church, another member church of the Linfen network. All church staff members were placed under 24-hour surveillance by military guards.
Although the government wanted to prosecute Linfen House Church network as an “evil cult group,” the church had a 30 year reputation of helping the community and being peace-makers. Instead the authorities offered to release nine of the pastors and hold only Yang Rongli, but the other pastors refused to leave without her. Again, the government retaliated by arresting ten more church leaders.
At a trial in November 2009, five of the Linfen House Church pastors were charged with “unlawfully occupying agricultural land” and “gathering to disturb the traffic order.” The pastors were defended by a team of five heroic human rights lawyers. Two of the attorneys, Zhang Kai and Li Fangping, had been traveling in the United States speaking as advocates for human rights in China, when they received the call to come and help. Unfortunately, the pastors received nothing more than a show trial. China Aid says, “Though the lawyers defended the honor of their clients with strong evidence and the law on their side, the court found the five pastors guilty.” Head pastor Yang received one of the most severe sentences given to a house church pastor in over a decade. She was sentenced to seven years and fined 30,000 Yuan. The other pastors also received severe sentences, ranging from 3-5 ½ years.
On November 30, 2009, the other five church leaders were charged with “gathering masses to disturb the transportation order.” They were arbitrarily sentenced to two years’ Re-education through Labor. They are now planning to appeal the sentences.
All of the trial’s proceedings and the entire story of the persecution of Linfen Fushan Church and the larger body of the Linfen House Church network, as well as stirring testimonies from our Chinese Christian brothers and sisters can be viewed at China Aid’s new website, www.HelpLinfen.com China Aid also has information for writing letters of support to the pastors and letters of concern to the authorities.
Prayer Points for the Week of February 18-24:
February 18
Thank God for the work of the amazing Linfen House Church network and for the lives and witness of 50,000 Chinese men and women who are bringing glory to God in Shanxi Province.
February 19
Pray for the legal appeal being made on behalf of the pastors of Linfen House Church. Pray for financial provision for the legal expenses, as well as for wisdom and authority for the attorneys. Also pray for protection over all during this appeal process.
February 20
Pray for the imprisoned pastors, that they would know the presence of the Lord with them as never before to comfort them and to encourage them. Pray for their physical, emotional, and spiritual protection and health. Also pray that God would use them in prison to bring many other prisoners to Christ.
February 21
Pray for the families of the church leaders, that they would be comforted and provided for. Especially pray for the children of these leaders, that they would be protected emotionally and spiritually from this bereftment. And pray for wives and husbands that any agenda of the government to pressure them to denounce their spouse or to force a divorce in order to further demoralize the imprisoned church leaders would be thwarted by the intervention of the Lord.
February 22
Pray for all of the members of the Linfen House Church network, particularly those of the Linfen Fushan Church, who have lost so much. Pray that God would provide for them to have their buildings restored and to be able freely to worship Him.
February 23
Pray and thank God for the advocacy work of China Aid and other Chinese advocacy organizations to bring light to these cases of persecution and injustice. Pray that they would find favor in the eyes of government officials both here in the U.S. Congress and the White House, as well as in China. Pray that the Lord would give them many opportunities to speak the truth to power.
February 24
Pray for a change of heart and repentance on the part of the Chinese government. Pray that God would open the eyes that are blind and make tender the hearts of stone.
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