Concerns Mount Over China’s Detained Bible Teachers And Bible Sellers

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News

BEIJING (Worthy News) – Concerns remained Tuesday about detained Christians in China after police raided a Bible study group for children, while elsewhere, unregistered church members selling Bibles received long prison terms and fines, Worthy News established.

Christians said local police in the city of Fuyang in eastern China’s Anhui Province detained ten Christian children aged five to six, along with their five Sunday school teachers. “According to the latest reports, two of the five teachers were placed in detention on April 30,” while the other adults and children were released, investigators explained.

“After a period of detention, all the children have now returned to their families. However, at least one child reportedly experienced significant psychological distress, including repeated seizures, and initially received limited medical attention from the authorities,” explained advocacy group ChinaAid, which supports the believers.

“The child is now undergoing medical evaluation and is accompanied by family members.”

Yet, “two Bible teachers, Chen Fangfang and Wang Dandan, were transferred to a detention centre at approximately 1 a.m [local time] on April 30,” the group added.

Christians expressed concern about “disturbing allegations” of the alleged mistreatment of Chen Fangfang. “It is claimed that Qu Jie, the chief of the Sanshipu Police Station in Fuyang, verbally and physically abused her. Reportedly, the abuses included insulting, humiliating, spitting on her face, and dousing her with water,” well-informed ChinaAid said. “Wang Dandan, a member of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang, had previously been detained for 15 days” on January 18, 2024, “for her participation in church activities,” the group recalled.

Eyewitnesses at the detention centre reportedly noted that when both teachers were being taken away, “they appeared joyful and encouraged others,” apparently due to their faith in Christ.

NO NOTICE

The teachers reportedly stated that they had not received any formal detention notices. When repeatedly asked about the duration of the detention, police officers responded with, “I’m not going to tell you all.”

Authorities in Communist-run China strongly oppose the religious and Christian education of children. Christians say the government is “determined to indoctrinate the minds of youth with Communist ideologies” based on atheism.

Details of Chinese security forces targeting the Bible study came while Christians also expressed concern about jailed believers from Hohhot, the capital of China’s autonomous Inner Mongolia region.

“During April 2021, Chinese authorities arrested ten Christians in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, for allegedly running an illegal business operation. In their efforts to get Bibles into the hands of as many people as possible, the believers had legally purchased copies of God’s Word at a retail price and resold them for a fee well below the original cost,” advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) told Worthy News.

“Four years later, the trial against the accused Christians finally came to a conclusion, resulting in nine of them receiving prison sentences and hefty fines. The convictions were based upon the contention that these followers of Jesus belonged to an unregistered church, and therefore they were not legally allowed to sell any Bibles, even though they had been offering them for a nominal fee,” VOMC explained.

Wang Honglan received the longest sentence, which consists of four years and ten months, along with a massive fine of 1,000,000 yuan ($139,000). She is scheduled to be released from custody on February 14, 2026, according to Christians familiar with the case.

Two others, Wang Jiale and Liu Minna, are to be set free on October 14 of this year, but trial observers said they were fined 200,000 yuan ($27,700) each.

SOME RELEASED

Another Christian, Yang Zhijun, is expected to be discharged on July 19 and forced to pay a fine of 150,000 yuan ($21,000), according to VOMC investigators. “The remaining Christians, including Wang Honglan’s husband Ji Heying, were found guilty but had been released earlier, after completing their sentences,” added VOMC which urged prayers for the targeted Christians and authorities.

Rights groups say that the “persecution of Christians” increased under China’s President Xi Jinping, who has ruled the nation since 2012. “Christianity in China can be perceived and treated differently depending on where it is practised – and is always at the whim of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” wrote advocacy group Open Doors in a recent assessment.

In recent years, the government has “aggressively tried to ensure all religious expression is brought into line with official Chinese Communist philosophy,” the group added. “Any church or church leader stepping beyond that can come under heavy restrictions. Unregistered churches, even those once tolerated, are considered illegal and increasingly put under pressure, as authorities seek to enforce regulations and tighten policies.”

Even state-approved churches “come under strong ideological pressure, and smaller congregations are often forced to merge to make a larger church that is easier for the state to control.”

Despite the reported crackdown, there are at least nearly 100 million Christians in China, with some estimates suggesting the figure could be 130 million or higher in the nation of more than 1.4 billion people.

China has denied human rights abuses, saying they are based on “lies and false information.”

Open Doors ranks the country 15th on its annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face the most persecution.

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