China: Henan House Church Leaders Arrested

Laojie Christian Church in Sanggu town, Henan province has over 200 believers. Members of this House Church have been gathering here since 1987.

Last Thursday, Chinese authorities arrested the two leaders of this House Church, Li Guangren and Zheng Xiancai. Rights group China Aid says they were guarding their church building after authorities made repeated attempts to take the building by force.

In May, the Laojie Christian Church rejected a proposal by village officials to the relocate the Church building to smaller location to pave way for a new highway.

In June, local authorities banned the church, declaring the unregistered House Church as a so-called “illegal site for religious activities.”

ChinaAid Founder and President Bob Fu says Laojie was unregistered because it refused to join the Communist Party’s state-run Christian church.

[Pastor Bob Fu, Founder and President, ChinaAid]:
“They said it was not registered… (it was) not registered because the government refused to register them, because it refused to join the government-sanctioned group.”

ChinaAid says Laojie Church leaders Li and Zheng have been convicted of so-called “unlawful social activities.” They were fined 1000 Yuan each—about 150 US dollars—and sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention.

Pastor Fu says the House Church has been trying to file an administrative lawsuit over the Chinese regime’s actions, but the authorities have refused to accept the case due to what they call it “religious sensitivity.”

(NTDTV)