Church Faces Harsh Sentences in Latest Wave of Persecution in China

In a prominent case of religious persecution, church leaders and members of the well-known and widely attended Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi Province, have been handed lengthy prison terms after more than 16 months in pre-trial detention. The Golden Lampstand Church, an independent house church not registered with the government-controlled Three-Self Church, was demolished by the authorities in 2018. In the recent trial, officials alleged the church was a “criminal organization” and that church leaders were engaged in fraud by collecting voluntary donations from members.

Christian human rights watchdog, ChinaAid, based in the United States, which monitors religious persecution in China, reported that ten leaders of the Golden Lampstand Church were recently sentenced in June 2025. Deacon Li Shuangping was sentenced to 9 years and 2 months in prison and ordered to pay a large fine. The court also seized over 17 million yuan (approximately US$2.29 million) of church assets. A trial for Pastor Yang Rongli, a leading house church pastor in China, is also pending and she is expected to face up to 15 years in prison. Pastor Yang has been in detention for nearly four years and has been on hunger strike several times during her detention. She has also written her will in preparation for her eventual death in prison.

ChinaAid reports that the legal proceedings have been fraught with grave abuses including the denial of legal counsel, access to case files, and the refusal to admit evidence presented in her defense at trial. Lawyers involved in the case have protested the court’s ruling on the grounds that taking voluntary donations is not fraud and that the classification of the church as a criminal gang is a political decision. Many are raising the alarm that the Communist Party is increasing its efforts to exert pressure on China’s large unregistered churches, specifically those that are attracting significant crowds or gatherings outside of its control.

ChinaAid points out that this is not an isolated incident and rather the latest in a litany of attacks against religious freedom in China. “The Christian persecution within the People’s Republic of China continues to cause the faithful to suffer and pay a heavy price for their faith, yet even in the face of suffering believers will continue to stand strong for their faith,” says ChinaAid. The Christian advocacy organization urges us to pray with and for our brothers and sisters in Linfen and around the country who “have been and are still experiencing intense suffering for gathering to worship.”