In June 2017, Bao Shuguang, Jiang Xingmei and other 3 middle-level leaders of The Church of Almighty God in Shandong Province were arrested for their belief by the CCP authorities. In October 2018, they were sentenced by the authorities to 11-13 years’ imprisonment.
Bao Shuguang (pseudonym: Sun Fei), female, was born on August 31, 1976 and is a resident of Yantai City, Shandong Province. In 2007, she began believing in the Lord Jesus; in 2008, she joined The Church of Almighty God, where she was a middle-level leader at the time of her arrest.
Jiang Xingmei (pseudonym: Chen Yang), female, was born on February 5, 1980 and is a resident of Rizhao City, Shandong Province. As a child, she began believing in the Lord Jesus; in 1999, she joined The Church of Almighty God, where she was a middle-level leader at the time of her arrest.
Bai Lanxiang (pseudonym: Han Bai), female, was born on March 22, 1982 and is a resident of Qingdao City, Shandong Province. In 2008, she joined The Church of Almighty God, where she was a middle-level leader at the time of her arrest.
Chen Hong (pseudonym: Wang Xi), female, was born on March 19, 1985 and is a resident of Gaomi City, Shandong Province. In 1998, she began believing in the Lord Jesus; in 2004, she joined The Church of Almighty God, where she was a middle-level leader at the time of her arrest.
Gu Liya (pseudonym: Xia Xue), female, was born on November 14, 1977 and is a resident of Yantai City, Shandong Province. In 2003, she joined The Church of Almighty God, where she was a middle-level leader at the time of her arrest.
On June 1, 2017, five Christians—Bao Shuguang, Gu Liya, Jiang Xingmei, Bai Lanxiang and Chen Hong—were in a worship meeting in Room 501, Unit 2, Building 8 of Ronghuali Community, Shizhong District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, when they were arrested by police from the National Security Brigade of the Shizhong Branch of Zaozhuang Public Security Bureau (PSB). During their arrest, the police confiscated laptops, phones, and several hundred books of Almighty God’s word. Officers also seized approximately RMB 90,000 (about USD $13,500) in cash and 9 bank cards (amount of deposits unknown).
On June 2, Bao Shuguang, Gu Liya, Jiang Xingmei, Bai Lanxiang and Chen Hong were charged on suspicion of “organizing and using a Xie Jiao organization to undermine the enforcement of the law” and placed under house arrest at a location designated by the Shizhong Branch of Zaozhuang PSB. On June 23, the five Christians were taken into criminal custody and detained in the Zaozhuang City Detention Center.
Following Chen Hong’s arrest, her family were placed under close surveillance of the CCP authorities in an attempt to capture Chen Hong’s elder sister (also a Christian). The police frequently went to Chen Hong’s house to harass her family members and threatened Chen Hong’s parents to tell the whereabouts of Chen Hong’s elder sister. They also took Chen Hong’s younger brother into custody for 15 days and fined him RMB 3,000 (about USD $450).
On November 22, 2018, the Shizhong District People’s Court of Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province determined that Bao Shuguang and the four other Christians were middle-level CAG leaders in Shandong Province, who had organized Christians to have worship meetings and had links with The Church of Almighty God abroad. According to Article 300, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, Bao Shuguang was sentenced to 13 years in prison (from June 23, 2017 to June 11, 2030), deprived of her political rights for 4 years, and fined RMB 130,000 (about USD $19,000) on the charge of “organizing and using a Xie Jiao to undermine the enforcement of the law”; Jiang Xingmei, Chen Hong, and Bai Lanxiang were each sentenced to 12 years (from June 23, 2017 to June 11, 2029), deprived of their political rights for 3 years, and fined RMB 120,000 (about USD $18,000); and Gu Liya was sentenced to 11 years in prison (from June 23, 2017 to June 11, 2028), deprived of her political rights for 3 years, and fined RMB 110,000 (about USD $16,000). At no point during the trial were the family members of Bao Shuguang or the four other Christians informed of their appearance in court and to date, five Christians’ families have not received any written copy of judgment from the court.
On November 15, 2018, Bao Shuguang and the four other Christians were transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison, where they still remain.
Link to relevant information：Bitter Winter
