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Guangdong, Shengja Church: Leaders Sentenced for “Illegal Business Operations”

Printing and selling for a small fee Christian literature is now regarded as sufficient to throw fraud charges at house church preachers and elders.



The People’s Court of Shunde District in Foshan City. From Weibo.
The People’s Court of Shunde District in Foshan City. From Weibo.

On January 17, 2025, the People’s Court of Shunde District in Foshan City, Guangdong province, gave its verdict in the case of the Shengjia Church, a house church in Shunde. 

Preacher Deng Yanxiang received a prison sentence of two years, which will expire on May 23, 2025, considering the time spent in pre-trial detention. The sentence is being served in the Nanhai District Detention Center. The other four defendants, Wang Weicai, Zhu Longjiang, Zhu Qiaoling, and Zhu Longfei, were sentenced to terms ranging from one year and two months to one year and five months. These are covered by their pre-trial detention and they have been released.


The case started on May 24, 2023, when Shengjia Church was raided by multiple departments, including Public Security, Ethnic and Religious Affairs, Education, and Industry and Commerce. Preacher Deng Yanxiang, Deacons Zhu Longjiang and Wang Weicai, and Sister Zhu Qiaoling were arrested on charges of “illegal business operations.” Books, tables, chairs, and other items were confiscated.


On August 9, 2023, Elder Zhu Longfei was also arrested by Shunde police for “suspected illegal business operations.” Five members of the Shunde Shengjia Church, including three siblings, Sister Zhu Qiaoling, Deacon Zhu Longjiang, and Elder Zhu Longfei, were formally arrested. The arrest of the whole Zhu family left Elder Zhu Longfei’s wife, Liang Dandan, who has heart disease, to care for her elderly and seriously ill parents-in-law. The mother of the three Zhu siblings was hospitalized in critical condition in October 2023. Their lawyers submitted multiple applications for bail for the three Zhu siblings, but they were all denied.


A part of the court’s decision. From X via Human Rights Network.
A part of the court’s decision. From X via Human Rights Network.

On November 30, 2023, the Shunde District Procuratorate prosecuted Elder Zhu Longfei, Preacher Deng Yanxiang, Deacon Zhu Longjiang, Deacon Wang Weicai, and Sister Zhu Qiaoling for “illegal business operations.” This was mostly based on the church’s publications “Daily Bible Readings and Interpretations,” which were declared illegal publications fraudulently sold for profit. 


The trial ended on August 27, but the verdict was not immediately announced. Brother Zhu Longjiang and Sister Zhu Qiaoling were released on bail and returned home while the other defendants remained in custody. 


On October 23, 2024, the court also released Deacon Wang Weicai on bail. As mentioned earlier, the case was sentenced on January 17, 2025. It confirms that vague accusations of “illegal business operations” are now a weapon of choice to crack down on house churches.


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