China Aid Association
(Langzhong, Sichuan–April 26, 2013) A house church pastor and 15 lay leaders in southwest China’s Sichuan province were taken into police custody on Thursday at about 12:30 p.m. while they were learning to play musical instruments, ChinaAid has learned.
Local police and Domestic Security Protection agents also confiscated the Langzhong house church’s Western brass wind instruments. Ten believers were released the following day, but the six church leaders were administratively detained. Pastor Li Min, Wang Yuan and Li Chengxi were given a 15-day administrative detention sentence, while three others–Zhang Chuanli, Gou Shuhua and a seminary instructor whose name was not known–were given 10-, five- and three-day administrative detention sentences.
On Friday morning, police and Domestic Security Protection agents raided a prayer meeting attended by more than 20 people and took into custody Pastor Li’s wife, Song Liangyu.
Pastor Li Min’s Langzhong House Church has about 1000 members and is regularly persecuted by the local government. Nevertheless, Pastor Li and his congregation have held fast to the bottom line of the faith and have refused to give up meeting together to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
ChinaAid condemns the the Langzhong government for violating over a long period of time citizens’ right to freedom to believe in Christianity, and urges the authorities to immediately release the detained church workers, return the church’s musical instruments, and stop the persecution of the church and of law-abiding and Christian citizens.
Hebrews 10:35-36 instructs and encourages us:
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
See this earlier report about the persecution of Langzhong church: https://chinaaid.org/2012/09/langzhong-court-in-sichuan-violates-law.html
China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.chinaaid.org
