Ten church workers from Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi province have received prison sentences of up to nine years for alleged fraud, while two pastors are expected to receive sentences of fifteen and eight years. They were all arrested after police raided a baptism service in August 2021.
Church founders Pastor Yang Rongli (pictured) and her husband Pastor Wang Xiaoguang were identified by the authorities as ringleaders and tried separately, and while their sentences have not been publicly announced they are expected to be fifteen and eight years respectively.
Golden Lampstand Church has been persecuted for many years due to its refusal to register with the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, and the government demolished its building in 2018. Pastor Yang Rongli and Pastor Wang Xiaoguang led the church for over thirty years and Yang Rongli was also head pastor of the 50,000-member Linfen House Church Network. She and her husband were previously imprisoned for seven years and three years respectively.
The ten church workers were sentenced on 17 June by Linfen Yaodu District People’s Court, which portrayed voluntary tithes and offerings from church members as illegal gains under the crime of fraud. In addition to handing down prison sentences, the court authorised seizure of over RMB 17.3 million (around €2.1 million) of church and personal assets to cover “fraudulent offerings”, citing concealment of illegal status and clerical impersonation (relating to the fact that the church is unregistered).
The court confiscated all church funds, bank accounts, vehicles and religious equipment and supplies (including sound systems, computers, books and teaching materials from defendants’ homes or worship places) and 18 bank accounts were frozen.
The ten defendants emphasised the voluntary nature of donations to the church and the absence of deceptive intent, while their lawyers argued that they did not fabricate doctrines or misuse identities, that there was no false advertising or forced solicitation (noting that donations are part of religious practice) and that lack of registration does not equate to criminal fraud.
In its judgment and sentencing, the court concluded that the organisation constituted a criminal group, that all co-defendants knowingly participated in the “illegal religious entity” under false pretences and that the group falsely presented itself as legitimate, collected “tithes” and “special offerings” and committed fraud through concealment of facts. Defendants who returned funds or cooperated received leniency, while those who denied charges or who played leading financial roles faced harsher sentences.
Reporting on the case, Dr Bob Fu of China Aid commented, “The Linfen judgment represents a strategic effort to dismantle China’s house church movement by reinterpreting peaceful religious acts as criminal conduct. This undermines constitutional protections and erodes civil society, necessitating urgent international attention and action.
Sentences
Li Shuangping: 9 years 2 months, fine 100,000 RMB (around €12,000). Claimed no intent to defraud; argued donations were voluntary acts of faith.
Li Qin: 5 years 7 months, fine 50,000 RMB. Denied collection.
Huo Zhuangping: 5 years 5 months, fine 50,000 RMB. No confession.
Zhao Guo’ai: 5 years 4 months, fine 50,000 RMB. Denied control over donations; stated no coercion or personal gain.
Feng Junying: 4 years 10 months, fine 40,000 RMB. Financial administrator who acknowledged managing funds but claimed it was administrative, not deceitful; disputed inflated estimates. Leniency for cooperation.
Dong Yongyong: 3 years 11 months, fine 40,000 RMB. Disputed fraud amount; argued funds were transparently recorded. No confession.
Yang Hongzhen: 2 years 9 months, suspended 3 years, fine 30,000 RMB. Limited role.
Wang Xianfeng: 2 years 6 months, suspended 3 years, fine 20,000 RMB. Voluntary surrender.
Chen Qinglan: 2 years 2 months, suspended 2.5 years, fine 20,000 RMB. Bank manager who claimed purely internal financial role and denied false pretences or misappropriating funds.
Wu Ling’e: 1 year 10 months, suspended 2 years, fine 3,000 RMB. Minor role.
(China Aid, Bitter Winter)
Photos: China Aid