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China: Evangelical Christian Leader Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An evangelical Christian leader in Guizhou Province, China has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on unfounded charges of fraud and “inciting subversion of state power,” Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

Elder Zhang Chunlei of the Guiyang Ren’ai Reformed Church was sentenced to the 5-year prison term by the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court in Guizhou Province, China, on July 24, CSW reports. He was arrested on May 1, 2021, and has been in custody ever since.

Elder Zhang will appeal the sentence, CSW reports.

In a statement, CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “The charges against Elder Zhang Chunlei are completely unfounded. He should not have spent the past three years in detention on them and he certainly should not have been sentenced to any more time in prison. We call for his immediate and unconditional release and for reparations to be made to Elder Zhang and his family for the years of injustice they have been subjected to already.”

In a website statement about the long-term persecution suffered by Christians in China, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reports: “Persecution and discrimination are slowly spreading throughout most of China. The Chinese Communist Party’s goal is to make sure churches don’t fall out of line with official viewpoints. In the case of official churches, this means they are encouraged to praise and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party and its ideology. Churches that claim Christ as King are viewed with suspicion, especially since Christianity is seen as a primarily Western influence.”

Ruled by the oppressive Chinese Communist Party, China ranks 19 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.