{"id":46824,"date":"2023-05-16T14:50:17","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T05:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=46824"},"modified":"2023-05-17T10:26:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T01:26:47","slug":"vomk-report-255","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/05\/16\/vomk-report-255\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: PASTOR\u2019S WIFE REJOICES AFTER COURT UPHOLDS MAJOR FINE AGAINST HOUSE CHURCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46818″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Wang Xiaofei\u2019s husband, Pastor Yang Xibo, leads Xunsiding Church, the largest house church in Xiamen, Fujian province. During the past three years, authorities have shut down the church building, secretly followed church members, destroyed private property, forced members to send their children to public schools, and fined Wang Xiaofei and her husband more than 100,000 CNY (roughly $14,000) for organizing illegal gatherings. This month, an appeals court upheld the original verdict, ordering the couple to pay the fines. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]Wang <\/span>Xiaofei<\/span> responded by rejoicing.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cShe posted an <\/span>update <\/span>on social media <\/span>after receiving the verdict<\/span>,\u201d sa<\/span>ys<\/span> Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>She said <\/span>she was not surprised because scripture tells us that we should expect to join in Christ\u2019s suffering<\/span>, and that we should receive <\/span>that suffering<\/span> as a glory granted to us by God.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the pastor\u2019s wife quoted <\/span>1 Peter 2:20-21<\/span> in her post<\/span>:<\/span> \u201c<\/span>For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, <\/span>the <\/span>recent <\/span>round of <\/span>troubles began for <\/span>Xunsiding<\/span> Church on May 19, <\/span>2019,<\/span> when <\/span>police shut down <\/span>the church building <\/span>and<\/span> issued a<\/span> 25,000 <\/span>CNY fine<\/span> (<\/span>around <\/span>$3,600<\/span>)<\/span> for illegal gatherings<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Local <\/span>authorities <\/span>blockaded the church <\/span>building <\/span>for a month and <\/span>followed several <\/span>church <\/span>members,\u201d says Representative Foley. She notes that the <\/span>church tried meet<\/span>ing<\/span> at <\/span>several different locations<\/span>, but the gatherings were always raided by police.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Officers would regularly show up on Sundays to beat and arrest congregants<\/span>,\u201d she says<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46814″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Still, however, authorities <\/span>failed to dissolve the church. The government then opted for administrative penalties and excessive fines<\/span>\u2014a strategy becoming more popular in China and other countries where Christianity is restricted, says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthorities are finding that <\/span>imprisonment and torture <\/span>don\u2019t stop Christians and their churches<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>So<\/span> authorities are now trying to fine churches out of existence. They fine them <\/span>over and over again<\/span>, in increasing amounts, in the belief that Christians will ultimately choose to stop meeting out of fear of the financial consequences.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Pastor Yang and Mrs. Wang were first fined in July 2021. Their initial appeal was denied by Siming District People\u2019s Government. This month, their second appeal was denied by Xiamen Municipal Intermediate People\u2019s Court.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the social media post of the pastor\u2019s wife shows that the church is not going to be intimidated by the financial penalties.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Xunsiding<\/span> Church <\/span>has a rich history <\/span>of more than <\/span>100 years<\/span>, and they have faced severe difficulties before,\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cPastor <\/span>Yang\u2019s aunt and father were <\/span>both <\/span>significant figures in the <\/span>church. Pastor Yang\u2019s aunt was <\/span>imprisoned for 15<\/span> years<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>Pastor Yang\u2019s father was imprisoned for <\/span>five years<\/span>. But each time the church has <\/span>persevered<\/span> by the grace of God, <\/span>refus<\/span>ing<\/span> to <\/span>join the <\/span>state-sanctioned Three-Self <\/span>Church<\/span> and instead remaining faithful to Christ alone<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46822″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Xunsiding Church Pastor Yang Xibo with his wife before the second trial ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea is calling on Christians to join in prayer for <\/span>Wang <\/span>Xiaofei<\/span>, her <\/span>husband Pastor Yang <\/span>Xibo<\/span>, <\/span>and <\/span>Xunsiding<\/span> Church<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, we should rejoice just as <\/span>Wang <\/span>Xiaofei<\/span> did, that <\/span>the Lord <\/span>has counted <\/span>Xunsiding<\/span> Church<\/span> worthy to suffer for his name,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>Next, w<\/span>e should praise God for so many Chinese churches that are continuing their bold witness for Christ<\/span> today<\/span>, even after they lose their buildings and are forced to pay repeated fines. Finally, we should pray that the Lord will meet all their needs in Christ Jesus, showing us how to stand with them in their suffering.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/china<\/a><\/span> or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Account Holder: (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note \u201cChina\u201d on the transfer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46818″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Wang Xiaofei\u2019s husband, Pastor Yang Xibo, leads Xunsiding Church, the largest house church in Xiamen, Fujian province. During the past three years, authorities have shut down the …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":46819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46824"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46837,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46824\/revisions\/46837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}