05/01/2022 China (International Christian Concern) – A Chinese preacher and his wife who have received a hefty fine for organizing illegal religious gatherings will soon face court for the administrative reconsideration they had submitted for appeal.
Preacher Yang Xibo and his wife Wang Xiaofei from Xunsiding Church in Xiamen received a notice of administrative punishment from the Siming District Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau for organizing an illegal religious gathering last July. They were issued a hefty fine totaling more than USD 30,000. A hearing was held on August 13, although the court decided to maintain the same verdict.
Last November, Preacher Yang also received a decision notice from the court for an administrative reconsideration previously submitted by him. The local government recognized that Xunsiding Church illegally gathered several moms for a small group while the church was being disbanded, which posed a serious threat to the society, hence the fine of 200,000 RMB (USD 30,260) was appropriate.
On the same day, another court notice hit Preacher Yang and his wife with a 50,650 RMB (USD 7,663) fine, claiming that since the couple did not pay a 2019 fine (25,000 RMB) for illegally operating their church, the court ruled that the couple had to pay double. Preacher Yang filed an administrative reconsideration at the time, and he finally received a subpoena from Jimei District People’s Court on April 26.
He will attend the court on May 10 at 3 pm and is required to bring all the evidence in the original copy.
Please continue to pray for Preacher Yang and his wife, as they have faced trumped-up charges and ongoing harassment for standing up for their faith as house church leaders.
