On September 5, the Intermediate Court ruled that selling legally published Bibles is a crime if you are part of a house church.
On September 11, 2025, the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court in Inner Mongolia upheld the original verdicts against ten Christian believers convicted of “illegal business operations” for distributing legally published Bibles. This decision reaffirms the controversial ruling first handed down in November 2024, which sentenced the group to prison terms ranging from one to nearly five years, along with heavy fines.
The case, which “Bitter Winter” has followed closely in previous articles, centers on Wang Honglan and nine fellow Christians who purchased Bibles printed with government authorization in Nanjing and resold them at a loss through their house church. Despite the absence of profit and the evangelistic nature of their actions, authorities deemed their activities criminal because they operated outside the state-sanctioned Three-Self Church.
The appeal trial, held on September 5, 2025, confirmed the original sentences, including four years and ten months for Wang Honglan and fines totaling one million yuan. Other defendants—such as Wang Jiale, Liu Minna, and Yang Zhijun—received similarly severe penalties, while five of the accused had already served their time in pre-trial detention.
The court’s decision disregards the defense’s argument that the accused acted out of faith, not commercial intent. Legal experts and human rights advocates have criticized the ruling as emblematic of China’s tightening grip on religious freedom, particularly targeting house churches and independent Christian communities.
This outcome is a sobering reminder that in today’s China, even distributing legally sanctioned religious texts can be construed as a crime—if done outside the bounds of state control.
Source: Bitter Winter
