{"id":1038,"date":"2011-08-31T13:14:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T17:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2011-08-30T13:08:28","modified_gmt":"2011-08-30T17:08:28","slug":"china-releases-five-church-leaders-two-years-after-linfen-police-riot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/2011\/08\/china-releases-five-church-leaders-two-years-after-linfen-police-riot.html","title":{"rendered":"China releases five church leaders two years after “Linfen police riot”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Released from re-education labor camp: (from left) Gao Fuqin, Zhao Guoai, Yang Caizhen, Yang Hongzhen and Li Shuangpin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Five Chinese Christian leaders arrested in the “Linfen police riot”\u00a0have been released after two years in a labor camp.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 13, 2009, 400 local police and\u00a0Chinese government officials descended upon the church, demolished its buildings and clashed with hundreds of church members who rushed to defend their\u00a0new sanctuary, classrooms, offices\u00a0and an adjacent\u00a0cloth shoe factory owned by church members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, still in prison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The church was targeted because it was the hub of a network of more than 50 smaller “house churches” with an estimated 50,000 members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Women's leader Yang Rongli, still held<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They trace their history to a 19th Century church leader, Pastor Xi Shengmo (1835-1896), who wrote many Chinese Christian hymns.<\/p>\n

In the police violence, dozens were severely beaten, and more than 30 were hospitalized, including a number of elderly workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ten\u00a0church leaders were jailed. The Yaodu Distict People\u2019s Court of Linfen City found\u00a0five of them\u00a0guilty of \u201cunlawful occupation of agricultural use land\u201d and \u201cassembling crowds to disrupt traffic\u201d and sentenced:<\/p>\n

\n

Yang Rongli<\/strong> to seven years\u2019 imprisonment and a 30,000 yuan fine;
\nPastor Wang Xiaoguang<\/strong> to three years imprisonment and a 10,000 yuan fine;
\nYang Xuan<\/strong> to 3-1\/2 years imprisonment and a 20,000 yuan fine;
\nCui Jiaxing<\/strong> to 5-1\/2 years imprisonment and a 50,000 yuan fine; and
\nZhang Huamei<\/strong> to four years imprisonment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Elderly woman among 30 hospitalized after police beatings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The five other church leaders were charged with \u201cassembling crowds to disrupt traffic\u201d and were arbitrarily sentenced to two years re-education-through-labor. Those leaders — who now have been released at the end of their sentence —\u00a0include husband and wife Li Shuangping and Yang Hongzhen, Yang Caizhen (wife of Yang Xuan), Gao Qin, and Zhao Guoai.<\/p>\n

No police were reprimanded for the destruction of property or beating of church members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The new church sanctuary, which officials leveled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police still occupy the site where Linfen\u2019s church\u2019s Jindengtai (Golden Lampstand) church building and the adjacent Gospel Shoe Factory once stood. The church\u2019s members have scattered, although they have continued to meet and worship in homes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The shoe factory, leveled by police bulldozers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The release of these five leaders has been a great encouragement and unifying event for these believers,” reports the China Aid Association. “Although each was physically and psychologically tormented during their two years in the labor camp, all five were strong and at peace spiritually and reported experiencing \u201cglory in the midst of trials and tribulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five released a printed statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sincerely urge all brothers and sisters around the world to pray for Linfen church, so that we may worship together in the Golden Lampstand church building at an early date. At the same time, we also ask brothers and sisters to remember in prayer the Linfen leaders who are still suffering in jail: Brothers Xiao Guang, Yang Xuan and Cui Jiaxing, and sisters Yang Rongli and Zhang Huamei. May the Lord move the police to release them early so that they can be reunited with their families. We who have been released express our most sincere gratitude to the brothers and sisters around the world who have been concerned about us and who have helped us. May God remember your prayers and what you did. God is with as all!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

China Aid President Bob Fu noted:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Linfen church leaders and their families suffered cruel persecution for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the church. They paid the price with great honor for the sake of the Gospel. We express our great respect for them, and continue to lift up prayers for them and their families. These loyal and devoted brothers and sisters are not only the hope of the church, but also are the hope of Chinese society.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five Chinese Christian leaders arrested in the “Linfen police riot”\u00a0have been released after two years in a labor camp. On Sept. 13, 2009, 400 local police and\u00a0Chinese government officials descended upon the church, demolished its buildings and clashed with hundreds of church members who rushed to defend their\u00a0new sanctuary, classrooms, offices\u00a0and an adjacent\u00a0cloth shoe factory…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,5],"tags":[12,107,108,113],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china-2","category-persecuted-christians","tag-china","tag-linfen-church","tag-linfen-police-riot","tag-persecuted-christians"],"yoast_head":"\nChina releases five church leaders two years after "Linfen police riot" - Pray for the Persecuted Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/2011\/08\/china-releases-five-church-leaders-two-years-after-linfen-police-riot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China releases five church leaders two years after "Linfen police riot" - Pray for the Persecuted Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Five Chinese Christian leaders arrested in the “Linfen police riot”\u00a0have been released after two years in a labor camp. On Sept. 13, 2009, 400 local police and\u00a0Chinese government officials descended upon the church, demolished its buildings and clashed with hundreds of church members who rushed to defend their\u00a0new sanctuary, classrooms, offices\u00a0and an adjacent\u00a0cloth shoe factory…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/2011\/08\/china-releases-five-church-leaders-two-years-after-linfen-police-riot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pray for the Persecuted Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-31T17:14:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-30T17:08:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/files\/2011\/08\/linfen.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"China releases five church leaders two years after \"Linfen police riot\" - Pray for the Persecuted Church","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/pray_for_the_persecuted_church\/2011\/08\/china-releases-five-church-leaders-two-years-after-linfen-police-riot.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"China releases five church leaders two years after \"Linfen police riot\" - Pray for the Persecuted Church","og_description":"Five Chinese Christian leaders arrested in the “Linfen police riot”\u00a0have been released after two years in a labor camp. 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