Sichuan Church Elder Li Yingqiang Released on Bail
(International Christian Concern) –International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that over the weekend, elder Li Yingqiang from Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Sichuan was released on bail and sent back to his hometown in Hubei province.
Li has lost some weight but is overall healthy and remains in high spirit.
Together with elder Qin Derfu, Li was accused of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” and “running an illegal business” in the 1209 government crackdown against the house church last year.
For nearly eight months, Li’s wife Zhang Xinyue heard no news about her husband.
The government further persecutes Li’s family by attempting to force Zhang to send their home-schooled eight-year-old daughter to public school or face arrest. While the authorities’ effort failed in the end, Li’s daughter was greatly traumatized by the experience and Zhang was worn out in the process.
In a message sent via social media yesterday, she said, “Thank you my friends, family, brothers and sisters! Thank you for walking with my family through different means in the past eight months. May God greatly bless you. I love you all!”
While most of the detained ERCC members have been released on bail and sent back to their hometowns, Pastor Wang Yi, Qin Derfu, and Gou Zhongshan are still criminally detained on trumped up charges and deprived of the right to meet with their lawyers or family.
Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “Praise the Lord that elder Li is finally able to embrace his wife and kids after many months of unjust imprisonment! While we celebrate his release, we continue to pray for Pastor Wang Yi, elder Qin Derfu, and brother Gou Zhongshan. They are still incarcerated and enduring hardships that we cannot imagine.”
Check out the ICC post HERE
