CAG Christian Chen Qigui Persecuted to Death by the CCP Government

Chen Qigui, male, was born on November 11, 1944 and lived in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. He became a believer in the Lord Jesus in 2000 and joined The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in 2002. He served as a cashier and accountant for the village committee for more than three decades. He was always happy to help others and was very well liked in his village, but in 2002 he was arrested and detained by the CCP police because of his faith in Almighty God. The poor conditions in prison caused his lung disease to worsen, and after his release he was expelled from the Party, relieved of his position as an accountant, and his pension was revoked. He also suffered long-term harsh criticism from his fellow villagers. The great psychological stress caused his condition to worsen and he developed late-stage lung cancer. Ultimately, he passed away in 2005 after his treatment was ineffective; he was 61 years old.
At about 3:00 p.m. on November 12, 2002, Chen Qigui was in a gathering with eight other Christians at the home of his sister-in-law (also his neighbor) when he heard the sound of someone knocking. He was ambushed and contained by the police waiting there as soon as he opened the door. Then Ren Fei, the deputy director of the Changle District Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the section chief of Changle’s Guhuai Town led 20 people in surrounding the gathering place, and without showing any identification ordered Chen Qigui and the others not to move. He then picked up a book on a table and said, “That’s right, they are with Eastern Lightning! Which of you is the preacher?” No one present responded. Ren Fei and the others then went to Chen Qigui’s house to conduct a thorough search where they found several volumes of faith-related literature.
Three village cadres then rushed to the scene, and Ren Fei learned that Chen Qigui was the village accountant. He loudly censured him, saying, “Your belief in Almighty God has been determined to be a xiejiao by the national government—it’s a dead-end road! I was ‘fishing’ at the entrance to your home for over 40 days; I’ve had my eye on all of you for a long time and I know all about your comings and goings!” The police then took all nine Christians to the Changle District Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs for interrogation and ordered them to divulge information on the church. Chen Qigui refused. He was taken to the Changle Detention Center and held for a month by officers at the Changle District Public Security Bureau on suspicion of disrupting the social order.
Prior to his arrest, Chen Qigui suffered from a mild lung infection accompanied by symptoms such as a fever and a cough; it was still being treated. His first night in the detention center the temperature dropped below 10 degrees Celsius; the police forced him to bathe in cold water and refused to give him a blanket. Chen Qigui spent a cold night sleeping on the damp concrete floor in thin clothing. The following day his family sent warm bedding to the detention center for him, but detention center rules didn’t allow prisoners to have a quilt at night until after ten o’clock. During the day he had to sit on the cold concrete floor and memorize the prison rules, and for every meal all he had to eat was less than half a serving of yellowed, cold rice and a few vegetable leaves. His prison cell was cold and damp and completely devoid of sunlight; the extremely poor conditions caused his disease to deteriorate.
On December 12, his family got him out on probation by paying 15,000 RMB in bail. After his release Chen Qigui said that he had been beaten and degraded while in the detention center.
On December 30, the Guhuai Town Civil Affairs Bureau relieved him of his position as an accountant, expelled him from the Party, and revoked his pension because of his faith, and his fellow villagers criticized him relentlessly. Subsequently, the Guhuai Town section chief stopped by his home many times to speak with him (topics unknown) after which he appeared heavyhearted and extremely anxious.
Faced with one blow after another, Chen Qigui became sad and tearful, unable to eat and very absent-minded. He had a nonstop cough and was coughing up blood. His condition continued to deteriorate and an examination at the Fuzhou Pulmonary Hospital in March 2003 revealed he had late-stage lung cancer. His family spent over 300,000 RMB on chemotherapy for him, but the treatment was ultimately ineffective. He died on September 21, 2005 at the age of 61.