{"id":50604,"date":"2024-07-09T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T05:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=50604"},"modified":"2024-07-09T11:31:38","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T02:31:38","slug":"vomk-report-309","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2024\/07\/09\/vomk-report-309\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA\u2019S \u201cGOSPEL WARRIOR\u201d SENTENCED TO 19 MONTHS IN PRISON"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50599″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Evangelist Chen Wensheng was sentenced to a year and seven months in prison last month by a court in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, China on charges that he organized and funded illegal gatherings. He plans to appeal the verdict. ” 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][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Known internationally as China\u2019s \u201cGospel Warrior<\/span>\u201d,<\/span> Chen<\/span> has been arrested more than 100 times for his work as a street evangelist and has spent more than <\/span>130 days<\/span> in prison on what authorities classify as administrative detention. But according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley, this latest sentence is the harshest one yet.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Last August, <\/span>Evangelist <\/span>Chen <\/span>Wensheng<\/span> attempted <\/span>to take a flight from Shanghai to Jeju Island<\/span> but <\/span>was intercepted at Shanghai Airport and sent back to Hengyang<\/span> and placed under administrative detention<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span><\/span>\u201cNormally that means they would hold him for two weeks and then release him, as they had done every time in the past. But when he was due to have been released on September 18, they instead increased the charge to a criminal one: \u2018organizing and financing illegal gatherings\u2019 and kept him in prison.\u201d<\/span><\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says Chen\u2019s trial <\/span>was held <\/span>on <\/span>April 18 in the People’s Court of <\/span>Shigu<\/span> District in Hengyang City. <\/span>\u201cThe morning the trial begin, Evangelist Chen\u2019s <\/span>relatives<\/span>, <\/span>friends<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>supporters <\/span>followed him <\/span>to the <\/span>door of the court<\/span>room but were turned away by authorities.\u201d Eyewitness reports say there were <\/span>already police cars at the door of the court<\/span> and <\/span>nearly 800<\/span> people from various agencies providing security. <\/span><\/span>\u201cThe entire street where the court is located was blocked off under the pretext of a security drill,\u201d says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50606″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the trial which <\/span>reportedly lasted<\/span> one hour, p<\/span>rosecutors presented two main arguments<\/span> against Chen, according to Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, they noted that he had already been administratively detained nine times due to his street evangelism work, for a total of <\/span>130 <\/span>days<\/span> of detention<\/span>.<\/span> Second, they said he disrupted the social order and negatively <\/span>impacted<\/span> the lives of residents by organizing evangelism in <\/span>vegetable markets, intersections, shops, and minority areas<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that Evangelist Chen <\/span>Wensheng<\/span> denied the criminal charges, explaining to the court that he does not organize gatherings or finance them but rather simply evangelizes on the street.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cHe carries a wooden cross displaying the words \u2018Glory to our Savior\u2019 and \u2018Repent and be saved by faith<\/span>\u2019,<\/span> and he hands out gospel tracts, even to the police who arrest him,\u201d says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50596″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chinese street evangelist Chen Wensheng with a friend, outside a public security office where he was investigated. ” 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]Since <\/span>Evangelist <\/span>Chen did not hire a lawyer that day, the court appointed a public defender for him<\/span>. But Representative Foley says the evangelist <\/span>mainly spoke<\/span> to the court on his own behalf. \u201cHe told the court that as a person of faith, he was willing to suffer for his faith and be sentenced severely, but as a citizen, he asked the court to conduct a fair trial.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says eyewitnesses report that the evangelist was very cheerful and peaceful during the trial and was friendly to the court officials.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In the <\/span>June 20 <\/span>sentencing hearing<\/span>, Chen <\/span>was sentenced <\/span>to a fixed prison term of one year and seven months. <\/span>The evangelist <\/span>said he would appeal.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cYears <\/span>ago<\/span> he was a drug addict<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>When he heard the gospel, he <\/span>was delivered from his addiction and <\/span>immediately<\/span> began preaching on the streets. <\/span>He\u2019s<\/span> been a street preacher for more than 1<\/span>5<\/span> years. <\/span>He is a member of a small church, and yet<\/span> these criminal charges and this recent trial where the building and streets were blocked off <\/span>testify to <\/span>the <\/span>breadth of his impact<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50595″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chinese street evangelist Chen on the streets of Hengyang preaching the gospel” 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]Individuals interested in learning about Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit <\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/project\/china \/<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> .<\/span><\/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=”50599″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Evangelist Chen Wensheng was sentenced to a year and seven months in prison last month by a court in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, China on charges that …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":50601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","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":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50604","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=50604"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50610,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50604\/revisions\/50610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}