• Skip to main content
  • HOME
  • ABOUT CHINA
    • NEWS
    • TESTIMONIES
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • GLOSSARY
    • CHINA PERSECUTION MAP
  • FROM THE WORLD
    • NEWS GLOBAL
    • TESTIMONIES GLOBAL
    • OP-EDS GLOBAL
    • FEATURED GLOBAL
  • INTERVIEWS
  • DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS
    • DOCUMENTS
    • THE TAI JI MEN CASE
    • TRANSLATIONS
    • EVENTS
  • ABOUT
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • TOPICS

Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

three friends of winter
Home / China / Testimonies China

Christian Beliefs Prevent a Hero From Receiving Reward

02/03/2019Xin Lu |

Bonus

The Chinese government uses every possible means to conceal an act of bravery merely because the rescuer has a cross in his home.

In early July 2018, Li Shoufa was walking along the side of a pond in his village, when he suddenly heard cries for help. As he went toward the calls, he discovered that two children from his village, in Pingchangguan town, under the jurisdiction of Xinyang city, in central China’s Henan Province, had fallen into the water. Two elderly people, both in their 60s, had already jumped in to save the children … until they started drowning themselves in the six-meter-deep-pond.

Li Shoufa immediately jumped in, pulling the four victims – three of whom survived – from the water with the help of other villagers who soon arrived on the scene.

Naturally, news of Li Shoufa’s heroics spread throughout the local area. And yet, the town government was reticent to publicize the matter – the local news channel merely reported an act of bravery – despite Li Shoufa garnering praise from just about everyone.

On July 10, two reporters, after discovering the hero’s name, came to interview Li Shoufa for the Xinyang Evening News; the news was widely circulated online. A private institution offered Li Shoufa a 10,000 RMB (about $1,428), which was to be handed over to him by the local government.

Government officials finally, and reluctantly, went to the home of Li Shoufa, whereupon they refused to hand over the reward because, as they said, “There is a cross in your home, so this issue [receiving the reward] will be tough to handle.”

Li Shoufa’s wife is a Christian. Ever since local government officials learned about this, they were unwilling to report Li Shoufa’s heroic rescue publicly.

“The government is cracking down forcefully on religious beliefs this year. As soon as something entails religion, it is like hitting a high-voltage line,” said an informed villager. “As soon as higher authorities find out about the cross in Li Shoufa’s home, it will prove that the town government didn’t do a good job in eliminating religious belief and dismantling crosses. The town government officials would lose their jobs. Under such circumstances, how can the government publicize the heroic deeds of a Christian?”

Some villagers suggested that Li Shoufa report his heroic deeds to higher authorities because according to state regulations, Li Shoufa deserves to receive an honorary title and a monetary reward. But after reporting this matter to the relevant department in Pingchangguan town, no reply was ever received.

After hearing about this, the town secretary of Pingchangguan was infuriated and demanded that all reports regarding Li Shoufa be removed. His application was not submitted to higher authorities either.

“If you want to be a hero and want a reward, then hurry and tear down the cross,” one local government official said. “If you don’t follow the Communist Party, it will treat you like a political prisoner. Believing in God not only affects this matter [getting a reward] but in the future, even your children will be affected when attending school and looking for employment.”

This kind of “reward” was obviously unforeseen by Li Shoufa and his family.

Some villagers said that in order to receive the reward that he deserves, Li Shoufa’s son tried twice to secretly replace his mother’s cross with a portrait of Mao Zedong. As a result, the family got into an unpleasant dispute over the matter.

Li Shoufa and his family still have not received the 10,000 RMB reward.

Reported by Xin Lu

Tagged With: Christian Faith in China

bw-profile
Xin Lu

Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.

Related articles

  • Beijing Lampstand Church: Pastor Qin Sifeng Sentenced to Five Years in Jail

    Beijing Lampstand Church: Pastor Qin Sifeng Sentenced to Five Years in Jail

  • Christian Students Asked to Study 20th Congress and Celebrate “Heroes” Who Betrayed the Church

    Christian Students Asked to Study 20th Congress and Celebrate “Heroes” Who Betrayed the Church

  • Hohhot Bible Trial: Defendants Charged with “Collusion with Foreign Forces”

    Hohhot Bible Trial: Defendants Charged with “Collusion with Foreign Forces”

  • Early Rain Church: Family Blocked at Home and Forbidden to Attend “Illegal” Sunday Service

    Early Rain Church: Family Blocked at Home and Forbidden to Attend “Illegal” Sunday Service

Keep Reading

  • Chinese Christians Compelled to Honor Deceased CCP Leader Jiang Zemin
    Chinese Christians Compelled to Honor Deceased CCP Leader Jiang Zemin

    Three-Self Church honors him as “a great Marxist we love and miss” and says he did “a good job in religious work.” In fact, he increased surveillance and persecuted believers.

  • David Lin: China Promises to Free in 2030 American Pastor Detained Since 2006
    David Lin: China Promises to Free in 2030 American Pastor Detained Since 2006

    His life imprisonment sentence has been reduced after American pressures, but eight further years in jail may be too much for his frail health.

  • Taiyuan Pastors Told to Teach Christians to “Always Follow the Party”
    Taiyuan Pastors Told to Teach Christians to “Always Follow the Party”

    A plan for church activities hardly includes anything Christian, and calls for studying and teaching the works of Marx and Xi Jinping, and the CCP official documents.

  • Wang Hai: Miao Christian Pastor Still Harassed and Investigated
    Wang Hai: Miao Christian Pastor Still Harassed and Investigated

    The popular preacher from the Miao ethnic group was released in 2020 but his troubles are not over.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Newsletter

MOST READ

  • Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang Denounced at the United Nations—Again by Ruth Ingram
  • The False Panchen Lama Tells Tibetans to Obey Xi Jinping Unconditionally by Lopsang Gurung
  • The Two Sides of Elon Musk: A Uyghur View by Kok Bayraq
  • Iraq: Beware of Rayan al-Kildani and his “Christian” Babylon Movement by Willy Fautré
  • France: Rémi Mogenet, a Victim of Anti-Cultism, Testifies by Massimo Introvigne
  • The Unification Church Issue in Japan: A Japanese Christian Theologian Speaks. 1. Lies About Abe’s Relations with the Church by Haruhisa Nakagawa
  • All Roads Lead to Rome: Two “Official” Chinese Bishops Will Attend the Catholic Synod by Massimo Introvigne

CHINA PERSECUTION MAP -SEARCH NEWS BY REGION

clickable geographical map of china, with regions

Copyright © 2023 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY