A court in Guiyang, the capital of China's Guizhou Province, has sentenced Elder Zhang Chunlei, a leader of a house church, to five years in prison on charges of “subversion of state power” and “fraud.”
The sentencing took place in a highly controlled legal proceeding with limited public access, according to reports.
According to The Christian Post, on 24th July, the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court handed down the sentence to Zhang, who is affiliated with the Guiyang Ren’ai Reformed Church. Zhang, who has been suffering from liver cirrhosis, received the sentence following a process that has drawn international concern.
Zhang was detained on 16th March 2021, after visiting a local police station to inquire about the whereabouts of ten fellow church members who had been arrested during a police raid on a private property where a church retreat was being held.
He was officially arrested on 1st May 2021, on fraud charges. Later, in January 2022, an additional charge of "inciting subversion of state power" was added.
Since his arrest, Zhang has remained in custody, with his health deteriorating significantly due to liver cirrhosis.
Despite his critical health condition, Zhang was returned to prison. According to his wife, Yang Aiqing, his life is at risk under these conditions, and she insists that he needs proper medical treatment outside the prison.
Zhang will serve three years and six months for inciting subversion of state power and an additional two years for fraud, totaling a five-year sentence. His release is scheduled for 16th March 2026.
Mervyn Thomas, Founder of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, condemned the charges and the sentence, calling them "completely unfounded." He demanded Zhang's immediate and unconditional release and called for reparations for the suffering endured by Zhang and his family.
Bitter Winter has previously reported that harsh sentences like Zhang's are part of a broader agenda under President Xi Jinping’s administration to pressure all Protestant churches to integrate into the state-sanctioned Three-Self Church, limiting their autonomy and aligning their teachings with communist ideologies.
According to Open Doors, an organisation that monitors global Christian persecution, the Chinese government's efforts to control religious practices have intensified, particularly through stringent regulations and increased digital surveillance targeting unregistered “house churches.”
Elder Zhang is reportedly planning to appeal his sentence.