(Chengdu, Sichuan Province) On October 18 around 5 PM, Wuhou District police summoned Xiao Luobiao, a member of Early Rain Covenant Church, to the Hongpailou police station. Officials suspected him on charges of “organizing an evil cult” but released him six hours later.
Around 6:30 PM, Chen Yan, Xiao Luobibao’s wife, found out that her husband was taken away. She called Hongpailou police station, and they confirmed his whereabouts. After she requested further information, the police said he was summoned for “preaching a religion illegally.”
Later, Chen Yan received the administrative summon from the police station. The summon stated: “Per Law of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) on Public Security Administration Article 82, our unit summoned Xiao Luobiao who is suspected of organizing an evil cult to Honglou Police Station for interrogation on October 18, 2021, at 5 PM.”
Xiao Luobiao, a member of Early Rain Covenant Church, has been followed, surveilled, and summoned multiple times since 129 incident*. His wife and two children have been followed, harassed, and threatened as well. Mrs. Xiao reported it to the police multiple times and wrote diaries about safeguarding their rights, but to no avail.
On December 24, 2020, at 7 PM, police officers from Chengdu City Funan Police Station broke into Xiao Luobiao’s home without any warning, stopping him from attending the church’s Christmas Eve virtual service. Chen Yan took photos of the officers using her cell phone legally, which resulted in police violence. Xiao Luobiao reminded them that Chen Yan was pregnant, so police stopped but grabbed Chen Yan’s cell phone, demanding her to delete photos she took. Their two children watched the entire altercation.
On the morning of October 25, 2020, agents from the Bureau of Religion came by Xiao Luobiao’s home while he was watching worship online with his family. The agents demanded that the family turn off their computer and stop worshipping. Brother Xiao said that he wouldn’t comply. Chen Yan questioned police if they broke laws while worshiping online. The police responded that worshipping online was a violation of the law as well. Later that day, Xiao Luobiao was summoned to the police station and wasn’t released until hours later.
~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Association Contributing Reporter
ChinaAid Note: The “129 incident” refers to December
9th, 2018, when the Chinese Communist Party arrested Wang Yi and began their relentless persecution of Early Rain Covenant Church.