{"id":53949,"date":"2025-04-29T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T05:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=53949"},"modified":"2025-04-29T13:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T04:47:10","slug":"vomk-report-346","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2025\/04\/29\/vomk-report-346\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: HOUSE CHURCH CHRISTIANS SENT TO PRISON FOR SELLING GOVERNMENT-AUTHORIZED BIBLES AT A DISCOUNT"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53943″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Nine Christians from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, including Evangelist Wang Honglan, were convicted on charges of \u201cillegal business operations\u201d for selling government-authorized Bibles as a house church. The group members purchased the Bibles with their own funds and sold them at a 25% discount for evangelistic purposes. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, the court ruled that even though the Bibles were legally printed and purchased, it was illegal for a house church to sell them. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The group members, led by Evangelist Wang <\/span>Honglang<\/span>, acted out of love,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>They used money from their own pockets, earned through their own businesses and work, to <\/span>purchase<\/span> the Bibles. T<\/span>h<\/span>ey sold the<\/span> Bibles<\/span> at <\/span>a financial loss<\/span> in order to<\/span> help others afford a Bible.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The court handed down <\/span>prison <\/span>sentences ranging from four years and 10 months for Evangelist Wang down to one year for the ninth group member. Group members were also ordered to pay fines, ranging from 1,000,000 CNY (approximately <\/span>$137,000 USD<\/span>) for Evangelist Wang down to 5,000 CNY (approximately <\/span>$700 USD<\/span>)<\/span> for the ninth group member.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53939″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Although the verdict was announced this month, it was actually issued by the court in November <\/span>2024 <\/span>but not released to the public.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Based on time already served in prison during the investigation and trial, Evangelist <\/span>Wang<\/span>\u2014whose prison sentence is the longest\u2014is <\/span>expected to <\/span>be <\/span>released, <\/span>on <\/span>February 14, 2026<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]On April 15, 2021, <\/span>Evangelist <\/span>Wang was arrested, along with her 73-year-old husband Ji Heying, her son Ji <\/span>Guolong<\/span>, her nephew Wang Jiale, co-workers Liu Wei, Liu Minna, and <\/span>three <\/span>others. <\/span>The group was formally charged <\/span>on<\/span> November 2021, <\/span>but the trial did not begin until <\/span>November 2023, in the Huimin District Court<\/span> in Inner Mongolia. The trial <\/span>lasted <\/span>nearly <\/span>50<\/span> days<\/span>, concluding in January 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53944″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Wang Honglan, 68, the main defendant in the case of discounted re-selling of Three-Self Church Bibles in Hohhot City in Inner Mongolia, China. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The original sentencing was scheduled for December 5, 2024, but was canceled <\/span>at the <\/span>last minute due to the presiding judge falling ill. A new sentencing date was scheduled for March 27, <\/span>2025<\/span> but <\/span>was called off <\/span>without explanation. <\/span>T<\/span>h<\/span>en this month the court <\/span>announced<\/span> that <\/span>the verdict had<\/span> actually <\/span>been finalized in November 2024<\/span> but was now being made public<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that <\/span>reports confirm that <\/span>all <\/span>nine <\/span>experienced <\/span>torture and <\/span>were <\/span>forced <\/span>to make <\/span>confessions<\/span> during the investigation<\/span>.<\/span> She says that despite the harsh treatment and the long imprisonment <\/span>even <\/span>during the trial, the defendants\u2019 conduct and <\/span>testimonies of faith <\/span>won them the respect of many observers, not only fellow Christians<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The authorities <\/span>did <\/span>everything they <\/span>could <\/span>to shame <\/span>Evangelist <\/span>Wang<\/span> and the others<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>Evangelist Wang <\/span>was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs<\/span>, as though she were a dangerous prisoner<\/span>. <\/span>At the trial, when her attorney asked her about her religious beliefs, <\/span>she recited the Apostle’s Creed<\/span>, though court officials interrupted her. But h<\/span>er fellow <\/span>prisoners came to respect her <\/span>and the other defendants <\/span>as they saw the <\/span>genuineness of <\/span>their <\/span>faith<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53946″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Notice of the Bible discounters\u2019 trial, as issued by the court.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Representative Foley<\/span>, <\/span>attorneys for the defendants built their case around the selflessness of the Christians. \u201c<\/span>The<\/span> defense attorneys<\/span> recommended the dismissal of <\/span>all <\/span>charges, saying th<\/span>at the defendants <\/span>were <\/span>on trial for their <\/span>good deeds, not crimes,\u201d <\/span>says<\/span> Representative Foley<\/span>. \u201cOne of the attorneys<\/span> told the court, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>We are all beneficiaries of the Holy Bible. <\/span>Perhaps many<\/span> Christians\u2019 Holy Bible<\/span>s were<\/span> subsidized by Wang <\/span>Honglan<\/span> and other defendants. They have paid a great price for this, and the lawyers urge everyone not to forget them.\u2019<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The prosecutor<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s office <\/span>claim<\/span>s<\/span> the group <\/span>was <\/span>responsible for<\/span> more than <\/span>40 million <\/span>CNY <\/span>(<\/span>a<\/span>pproximately<\/span> $<\/span>5<\/span>,<\/span>5<\/span>00,000<\/span> USD)<\/span> of <\/span>discounted <\/span>Bible sales.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/china<\/span><\/a> or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\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=”53943″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Nine Christians from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, including Evangelist Wang Honglan, were convicted on charges of \u201cillegal business operations\u201d for selling government-authorized Bibles as a house church. …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":53942,"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-53949","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\/53949","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=53949"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53952,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53949\/revisions\/53952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}