Pastor Yang Rongli of Golden Lampstand church in Linfen, Shanxi province, is still waiting for her trial after she has been in detention for nearly four years on a fraud charge.

There is great concern for the welfare of the 69-year-old diabetic pastor, as Pastor Yang announced on 15 April that she would be going on hunger strike in protest against the injustices she has been enduring. Yang Rongli previously served a seven-year prison sentence for a separate charge – the image above was taken on the day of her release in 2016. She now seems to be willing to become a martyr for her Christian faith. It is reported that Yang Rongli has written her will and told her son how to handle her affairs should anything happen to her.  Her son Wang Yunxiang wrote in a statement: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am deeply honoured that such a good shepherd is my mother.”

Pastor Yang has led Golden Lampstand Church with her husband Wang Xiaoguang for over thirty years and was head pastor of the 50,000-member Linfen House Church Network, a group of thirty churches in Linfen city and its surrounding villages.

Trial without legal representation

On 5 March Yaodu District Court announced its decision to try Pastor Yang Rongli separately from her husband Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and ten other church co-workers. The pre-trial for Pastor Wang and his colleagues lasted seven days from 9 to 14 April, while the main trial started on 17 April. On the day of the hearing the court prevented the defence lawyers from bringing computers and phones into the courtroom (which contained all the case files) and subsequently four defence lawyers were denied entry to the courtroom altogether and later forcibly taken away by police vehicles. During the trial the prosecution described Golden Lampstand church  as a “criminal fraud organization” and the pastor couple as “criminal ringleaders.” 

After the hearing the couple’s son Wang Yunxiang was permitted to briefly visit his father. He described him as “already a thin, frail old man, looking much like my grandfather in his later years, yet full of spirit, with his face filled with radiance.”  During their conversation Pastor Wang Xiaoguang’s main concern was for the wellbeing of his wife and he explained that he felt it was an honour to be on trial for his faith.

On April 18, the trial concluded within a few hours. Pastor Wang Xiaoguang denied that he or his co-workers had committed any crimes and during his final statement, he laid out the core values of his faith and explained the meaning of financial offerings. Wang Yunxiang said that consistent with his father’s character, Pastor Wang concluded his trial was as if he was preaching a sermon in church.

Bob Fu, founder and president of Church in Chains partner organisation China Aid, was deeply moved after learning about what was said in the trial: “God’s glory is powerfully manifested in the courtroom! May the great power of Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection also move the hearts of the persecutors and their families through Pastor Wang Xiaoguang’s courtroom sermon, bringing them to repentance and into the kingdom of the Lord!”

Persecution of the Golden Lampstand church

In January 2018, a Chinese Communist Party demolition team destroyed Golden Lampstand Church with dynamite, claiming it did not have the necessary permits. The building had been constructed in 2008 and paid for by the congregation. (The image of the building being demolished is from a video taken by church members.) Members of the congregation began to meet outdoors and in homes, with police continuing to harass them.

In July 2021, Linfen city officials started a massive investigation to identify core members of Golden Lampstand Church, summoning pastors and evangelists from other affiliated churches for interrogation. Pastor Yang Rongli, her husband Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and ten other church leaders have been detained since 7 August 2021.

(ChinaAid)

Photo Credit: ChinaAid