Chinese Pastor Li Sentenced to Five Years for Defying Communist Regime

For years Pastor Li Juncai led a large church in the Henan Province of China that was part of a network of government controlled churches.  However, as time went on he grew increasingly uncomfortable as he began to understand how much control that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had over the churches.  In China, the CCP monitors who attends the churches and regulates what the Pastors are permitted to preach.  In time, Pastor Li realized that the congregation had to choose their loyalty.  It either had to be with God, or the CCP.  They chose God.  


Pastor Li and his congregation chose to leave and join an unregistered church known as the Yuanyang County Central House Church.  It soon grew to over 700 worshippers.  However, in the early 2000's, the CCP launched a new wave of persecution against the unregistered churches.  In 2014, over 4,000 crosses were removed from church buildings in the Zhejiang Province.  Pastors who resisted this were imprisoned and their churches seized and often destroyed.  In 2018, the CCP began issuing new religious restrictions such as flying the Chinese Flag in all churches, posting images of President Xi Jinping, and allowing surveillance equipment to be installed.  To ensure compliance, the CCP began to offer rewards to those who denounced churches that refused to comply to the demands.  


CCP Remove Cross from
Yuanyang Church

Pastor Li was one of the pastors who chose not to bow to the orders of the CCP.  On Feb. 20, 2019, CCP authorities arrested Pastor Li along with three members of his congregation for "obstructing government administration.  A short time later, the CCP removed the cross from his church.  Less than a year after Pastor Li's arrest, the CCP declared the Yuanyang Church illegal and demolished it.  In January of 2020, Pastor Li was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison and a fine of $7000.  Sadly, Pastor Li is only one of many religious leaders currently sitting in Chinese Prisons for refusing to bow to the demands of the CCP.  







Sources:

"In Prison for Christ."  Voice of the Martyrs.  Dec. 2021.

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