The Golden Lampstand Evangelical Church is being demolished with explosives in Linfen City of China's Shanxi province in January 2018. The church's leaders and members are facing trial for alleged fraud. (Photo: ChinaAid)
A court in a northern province of China held a public trial over the alleged fraud of leaders and members of an evangelical mega-church that was demolished by the authorities in 2018, says a rights group.
The court in Linfen city of Shanxi Province had a public hearing on the alleged fraud case on March 29, ChinaAid reported on April 4.
The accused include Yang Rongli, an Evangelist and leader of Golden Lampstand Church, pastor Wang Xiaoguang and his wife, and 10 members of the church.
It is still unknown whether the court convicted the defendants or verdict was delivered against them.
Ahead of the trial, Rongli’s brother, Yang Kai, issued three requests for prayer for the defendants.
He appealed to all to pray so the Lord gives the accused “strength to be witnesses for the Lord” and for more than 10 lawyers who are defending the accused so they can have the “discernment, wisdom, and the ability for the team to act as one person.”
He also invited brothers, sisters, and people from all walks of life to participate in the public trial “to witness together the fairness, openness, and just embodiment of the law.”
The trial of leaders and members is the latest in a series of crackdowns on the church since it was constructed in 2009. It was one of the largest churches in China, media reports say.
The church was built at an estimated cost of US$ 2.6 million and its congregation was part of a network of 50,000 members, Bitter Winter magazine reported in 2018.
The military police in Linfen demolished the church in January 2018 using explosives and heavy machinery after alleging it was built illegally without proper permits.
Following their arrest on Aug. 7, 2021, the leaders and members of the church were charged with fraud for allegedly collecting donations including tithes and offerings to the church from the members.
Bob Fu, a Chinese Christian living in exile in the US and founder of ChinaAid, slammed the purge of Golden Lampstand church leaders and members as “purely religious persecution.”
The rights group reported the persecution against the church is part of a wider crackdown on Christian groups in the region. In the past two years, a similar charge of fraud was leveled against leaders and pastors of Linfen Covenant Church and Xi’an Church of Abundance.
In communist and officially atheist China, religious groups that are not registered or affiliated with state-sanctioned bodies overseeing religious affairs face constant persecution and criminalization.
The purge against unregistered religious groups and their affiliated organizations intensified in 2018 after the Chinese Communist Party adopted new regulations on religious affairs.
The new regulations and policies require all religious groups, clergy, and members to register with the state and adhere to the socialist ideologies of the CCP or face criminal charges.
Since then, dozens of unregistered Christian churches have been closed, Christian organizations including schools and orphanages were shut and hundreds of Christians have been arrested across China.
