In a report released on December 2nd by Weiquanwang (Rights Defense Network), it was revealed that Yang Xibo, a preacher at Xiamen Xunsiding Church, and his wife Wang Xiaofei received a summons from the Siming District Court in Xiamen City, requiring them to appear for an inquiry by December 6th. Previously, Yang Xibo and his wife were fined 450,000 yuan by Xiamen authorities, and their lawsuit against this penalty was unsuccessful in court, with their appeal also being rejected.
Xunsiding Church, known as Xiamen’s largest house church with a century-long family church heritage, has been a target of the Xiamen Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau due to its stance as a house church. According to information released by ChinaAid, a U.S.-based religious rights organization, on May 19, 2019, Xunsiding Church was banned and fined 25,000 yuan. The government dispatched a large police force to guard the church’s location at Xunsiding No. 5 for an extended period, besieging the church for 30 days. The church subsequently changed its meeting locations multiple times, moving from residential buildings, office buildings, hotels, and seaside locations, but was continually discovered and disrupted by public security. The church’s branch congregations were also banned one after another. After these measures failed to disband the church, the authorities imposed hefty administrative penalties.
Weiquanwang disclosed that the Siming District Court in Xiamen City is now demanding that Yang Xibo and his wife report their assets and pay the fine. Failure to comply could result in “credit punishment” according to the law, along with other legal consequences.
(Source: Radio Free Asia)
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