China Frees Jailed Preacher To Care For Father
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIJING (Worthy News) – A Chinese Christian evangelist jailed for more than half a year on charges linked to his work has returned home to care for his father, who suffers from COVID-19, supporters told Worthy News.
China’s feared Public Security Bureau detained Lin Xuesui in June for “organizing and financing illegal gatherings,” Worthy News monitored.
Christians linked the accusations to his evangelism work in a remote region some 2,000 kilometers from his home in the Chinese coastal city of Wenzhou. “He shared his Christian testimony with local villagers,” said advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) in a statement to Worthy News.
VOMC and its Korean partner were closely following the case. “On January 14th, authorities released Lin on bail. After learning that his father had contracted COVID-19, the Christian evangelist was granted permission by the court to go home so he could take care of his father,” the group added.
It may have come as a miracle to Lin’s wife, Li Chunqing, who issued a public letter on August 20 urging Christians worldwide to pray. Li had complained that authorities in Communist-run China had portrayed Lin as a “socially dangerous” criminal.
Li called her husband an ordinary Christian carrying out his “fundamental Christian responsibility” by “sharing his faith” in an area where few people had heard the Gospel.
VOMC said it had urged its supporters to pray for the evangelist’s father’s recovery from COVID-19 and that “the courts would drop all charges against Lin” so “justice will prevail.”
Under President Xi Jinping, pressure on devoted Christians and churches has increased as the ruling Chinese Communist Party discourages the spread of Christianity, rights activists say.
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