The two Christian leaders falsely accused of fraud suffer of diseases that cannot be treated in jail, families say.
by Wang Zhipeng
Pastor Zhou Songlin suffers from a “serious illness” and doctors advise it cannot be properly treated if he remains in jail. Zhou himself is afraid he may die in prison. Elder Ding Zhongfu has problems of high blood pressure. In jail, his pressure went up to 110/170. He suffers of chest pain, dizziness, and insomnia. Medicines alone do not help.
This information comes from a dramatic appeal by the wives of Zhou and Ding, shared with human rights organization on April 27. They also complain that the CCP through infiltrated spies is trying to sow dissent within the two Christian leaders’ community, Ganquan Church in Hefei, Anhui province. The text notes that the case of the Ganquan Church will be an important precedent for many house churches in China, i.e., independent Christian communities that refuse to affiliate with the government-controlled Three-Self Church.
Zhou and Ding are falsely accused of “fraud,” as reported by “Bitter Winter” in January, for having purchased in their individual names two properties used for worship and communal activities with donations from parishioners. But this is a clear case of “damn if you do, and damn if you don’t,” as their wives note. As a house church, Ganquan Church is technically an “illegal” organization and purchasing properties in its name would also be against the law. If, however, pastors and elders purchase properties in their own names and act as de facto trustees for the church, this is also deemed illegal and they are accused of “fraud” as if they embezzled funds of the community, which they clearly didn’t.
“For more than twenty years,” the wives write, “Ganquan Church has been based on the Christian faith, strictly following the teachings of the Bible, honoring God and benefiting people, and self-regulating its congregation, in accordance with
the Christian Church’s thousands years of tradition, drawing on its own resources, and maintaining the normal operation of the church. The church has a strict financial management system, and the management and use of all funds are supervised by many people with Elder Ding reporting to the congregation as treasurer. The purchase of the real estate was decided at a meeting of all co-workers, and several trustees were elected to manage them. It also went through the legal process to create notarized and archived documents proving that the properties in fact belong to the church.”
On November 30, 2023, the church and several private homes were raided and 16 Christians were detained. 14 have since been released on bail, but Zhou and Ding remain in prison.
