In 2023, “Bitter Winter” reported on the arrest and prosecution of Pastor Wan Changchun of Living Stone Reformed Church, a house church in Bengbu, Anhui, and several co-workers.
On March 27, 2025, Pastor Wan was sentenced to five years in prison. Three co-workers were sentenced to jail terms between two and two and a half years but the sentences were suspended, while Wan remains in prison.
In April 2023, Bitter Winter reported that on April 11 Pastor Wang Changchun was arrested while he was traveling in Lijiang, Yunnan, and taken back to the prison of his home city of Bengbu.
The original charge of “illegal business operations” was amended later in 2023 to “fraud,” a crime that carries heavier penalties.
In fact, all financial operations of the Living Stone Reformed Church are recorded and approved by the members. The charge of “fraud” is now frequently used for any activity of churches not part of the government-controlled Three Self Church, claiming they are illegal and thus not authorized to collect money for any purpose.
This is an original text of the magazine “Bitter Winter” by Wang Zhipeng that we post with the permission of “Bitter Winter”.
