Clergymen of a TSPM church in Hefei, Anhui Province are Persecuted

November 1, 2012

Home » Uncensored News » Clergymen of a TSPM church in Hefei, Anhui Province are Persecuted

China Aid Association

(Hefei city — Oct. 31, 2012) China Aid Association has learned recently that two clergymen from a TSPM church in Hefei, Anhui province left the TSPM church after being persecuted and began serving in a house church. As a result, government authorities escalated their revenge and persecution of them, even to the point of violence.

Brother Pu Wanming is a native of Hefei, Anhui province. In 2005 he and his wife, Zheng Fang, graduated from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and Wuhan Zhongnan Seminary, respectively, and went together to serve at Chaoyang Church (a TSPM church) of Shushan District of Hefei. In November 2010, Pu Wanming applied for ordination but was denied; he was expelled from Shushan District by Shushan District Bureau of Religion and was no longer allowed to deliver sermons in churches within Shushan District. He was deprived of his qualification as a clergyman and no longer paid his salary. In September 2011, the director of Shushan District Bureau of Religion went to Chaoyang Church and announced the termination of labor-management relationship between Pu Wanming’s wife, Zheng Fang, and Chaoyang Church on the grounds that Chaoyang Church was mismanaged. Zheng Fang’s salary was terminated, and she was issued a public document in the name of Shushan Bureau of Religion; a public notice was posted. Since October 2011, Pu Wanming has been serving in a house church.

While Pu Wanming and his wife served in Chaoyang Church, they lived in a residential unit provided by the church. In September 2011, after Chaoyang Church terminated the labor-management relationship between the church and Zheng Fang, they wanted Pu Wanming’s family to move out. As Pu Wanming doesn’t have another residence in the local area, he was delayed in leaving. On June 5, 2012, Chaoyang Church sued Pu Wanming, demanding that he move out of the residential unit. In the meantime, Shushan District Bureau of Religion became repeatedly involved in this case. The court opened a session once and conducted mediation three times outside the court. It notified Pu Wanming on September 5, 2012, that Chaoyang Church had unilaterally withdrawn its lawsuit.

At 10 a.m. on September 6, 2012, when Pu Wanming and Zheng Fang were not at home, the director of Shushan District Bureau of Religion, along with the director of Nanqi Police Station and a group of unidentified thugs, broke open the door of Pu Wanming’s residence under broad daylight. They injured Pu Wanming’s father and hauled away all the furniture in his residence and took his father to the local police station. At 13 o’clock in the afternoon, when Pu Wanming and his wife returned home, they were shocked and angry at what they found. They immediately dialed 110. Half an hour later, a police officer from Nanqi Police Station came to the scene and left by saying only, “I can’t handle this.” Pu Wanming continued to dial 110, but by 19 o’clock in the evening, Nanqi Police Station still had not sent police officers.

ChinaAid denounces the Hefei authorities in Anhui for their blatant violation of the basic personal rights of citizens and urges them to immediately cease the persecution of Pu wanming and his family and conduct a serious investigation into the liabilities of persons involved in this incident.

Click on the small photo for an enlarged photo: The related docs of Chaoyang TSPM Church in Shushan District, Hefei.