2024-01-22 18:43:25
A court in China sentenced a famous Protestant pastor to 14 years in prison for his online preaching. The pastor’s wife and four church members were also sentenced to sentences ranging from three to 10 years in prison.
The Ganjingzi District People’s Court in Dalian city sentenced pastor Kan Xiaoyong, 60, to 14 years in prison. His wife, Wang Fengying, received a four-year sentence and the other four church members – Chu Xinyu, Zhao Qianjiao, Zhang Songai and Liang Dongzhi – received sentences ranging between three and 10 years.
All were found guilty of allegedly “using superstition to undermine the law”, according to information from Radio Free Asia (RFA). Initially, there was fear that the pastor’s sentence would exceed 20 years, but with the defense work done by the lawyers, the sentence was lower.
The same happened with the pastor’s wife, as a sentence of between 15 and 18 years in prison was expected, but ended up being fixed at four years. Despite these reductions, a source stressed that none of the accused is guilty.
Understand the case
Kan and Wang moved from Wuhan to Dalian in 2018 and established the Home Discipleship Network, an online preaching platform. One source stated that the significant number of sermon followers of Kan and his church’s unofficial status posed a threat to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which resulted in repression.
Their arrest by Dalian police, along with the other four church members, took place in October 2021. Both Kan and Wang said at trial that Dalian police tortured them during interrogations, and the accusation was not refuted by authorities.
According to information from the portal The Christian Post, this case reflects a phenomenon resulting from the Xi Jinping dictatorship’s repression of Christians. Xu Yonghai, an elder at a house church in Beijing, commented on the growing fragmentation of Protestant churches in China, saying it is a side effect of persecution.
The entity Bitter Winterwhich is dedicated to monitoring religious freedom and human rights in China, reported that these heavy sentences are part of a broader effort by Xi Jinping to force all Protestant churches to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church.
The charges against Kan and the other defendants included “illegal business practices” and the use of “xie jiao” to undermine the implementation of the law, the magazine said. “Xie jiao”, translated as “heterodox teaching”, is a term often used by Chinese authorities to label groups they consider “sects”. However, Kan’s organization, a typical Protestant house church, does not fit this profile.
Kan, originally from Wuhan, was a successful businessman and comes from a family with ties to the CCP. He and his wife, a former teacher and dancer, entered full-time ministry in 2018. His ministry has gained national recognition within the house church circuit. The couple’s legal team plans to appeal the sentence.
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