Chinese pastor sentenced to seven and a half years

BEIJING — The Zhongmu City People’s Court sentenced Chinese house church pastor Zhang Rongliang to seven and a half years in prison June 29, though a co-worker said he was not notified of the verdict until July 4.

Zhang is a key leader of the China for Christ house church movement, formerly known as Fangcheng but renamed by Zhang in October 2004.

He was arrested by Henan police without charges Dec. 1, 2004. Only months later was he charged with “attaining a passport through cheating” and with “illegal border crossing.”

Zhang’s lawyer, Zheng Laiyou, was not optimistic about an appeal. “It is very clear that the verdict was not made independently by the People’s Court,” he said.

Zhang’s wife, Chen Hongxian, was shocked at the verdict. “Who would have thought the outcome would be this bad?”
Chen said. “It is the Communist Party’s court, not the People’s Court, that makes the real decision.”