Hohhot Christians’ Trial: Nine Sentenced to Jail Terms for Distributing Bibles

Although they bought Bibles printed with the government’s authorization, judges found that if you belong to a house church reselling them is still a crime.

By Fang Yongrui

April 15, 2025

Sister Wang Honglan. From X.

On April 10, 2025, relatives and co-religionists of Sister Wang Honglan, asking for prayers, informed that they had just received a judgement dated November 20, 2024, concluding the “Bible Trial” of Hohhot, in Inner Mongolia.

In March 2023, “Bitter Winter” reported the arrest and prosecution of ten Christian believers from Hohhot for allegedly selling Bibles illegally. Although the Bibles were legally published in Nanjing with government authorization, the prosecutor argued that selling Bibles through an unauthorized house church, not affiliated with the government-controlled Three-Self Church, is a crime even if the Bibles are legal themselves.

The ten individuals were Wang Honglan, Ji Heying, Zhang Wang, Wang Jiale, Liu Minna, Li Chao, Yang Zhijun, Ji Guolong, Liu Wei, and Ban Yanhong. Wang Honglan is recognized in the Hohhot Christian community and has previously served five years in jail and one year in a labor camp. Ji Heying is her husband. Ban Yanhong was identified by the authorities as another key member of the group.

Arrested in April 2021, the Christians argued they had no profit; instead, they lost money by buying Bibles at 95% of the cover price and selling them at 75%. Their goals were evangelistic, not commercial.

On April 15, 2024, the Hohhot Huimin District Court sentenced Ban Yanhong to five years for illegal business operations. The trial continued for the other defendants.

The appeal of April 10 by relatives and co-religionists of Sister Wang Honglan.

The decision reported on April 10, 2025, found all the remaining defendants guilty.

Wang Honglan was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison and fined one million yuan.

Wang Jiale was sentenced to four years and six months in prison and fined $200,000. 

Liu Minna was sentenced to four years and six months in prison and fined RMB 200,000. 

Yang Zhijun was sentenced to four years and three months and fined RMB 150,000. 

Ji Heying was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.

Ji Guolong was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.

Zhang Wang was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.

Liu Wei was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.

Li Chao was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 5,000 yuan. 

The last five defendants had already purged their sentences in pre-trial detention.

Source: bitterwinter.org