Case Details and Biography of Ma Tao, an Elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in Fuyang, Anhui Province, Who Was Arrested

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On June 21, 2026, this website learned of the case details and biography of Ma Tao, an elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, who was arrested. The details are now reported as follows:

Ma Tao: Born on July 20, 1984, his real name is Ma Shutao. He is from Yingshang County, Anhui Province, a citizen of Nanzhao Town, Yingshang County, a Christian, an elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Fuyang City, Anhui Province, a victim of religious persecution, and a prisoner of conscience detained in China.

He is kind and friendly. Because he firmly believes in Jesus Christ, he became involved in ministry at the Wheat Seed Reformed house church in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, at an early age and became a preacher; however, because his church upholds the house-church position in its faith and openly refuses to join the “Three-Self” churches controlled by the Chinese Communist government, he has been subjected to stability-maintenance surveillance by the authorities; at the end of August 2021, his church was raided for the first time by police from Yingzhou District, Fuyang City, and was subsequently banned by the local civil affairs bureau on the grounds that it had “engaged in activities in the name of a social organization without registration.” However, he and the church’s other pastors and believers, undaunted by the risks, continued to hold gatherings discreetly and with difficulty; nevertheless, precisely because of this, the pastors, co-workers and key believers of their church have frequently faced arrest and suppression by the authorities;

On June 29, 2025, while his church and its preaching station, Covenant Church, were holding worship services, they were again raided by local police. Multiple church groups were forced to stop holding gatherings, and he, Pastor Chang Shun and 19 other pastors and believers (including four children) were taken away together on suspicion of “illegal assembly”; the following day (June 30), most of them were released one after another, but he and Pastor Chang Shun were criminally detained on suspicion of “the crime of organizing illegal gatherings”; on August 6 of the same year, the two were formally arrested by the Fuyang City Procuratorate on the same charge. During the same period, Pastor Zhang Sen of his church was also arrested and the case was combined with theirs; by October 22, it was learned that the police had transferred the case against the three to the Yingzhou District Procuratorate of Fuyang City for review and prosecution on the charge of “organizing illegal gatherings”; on March 21, 2026, the case against him was formally prosecuted by the Yingzhou District Procuratorate of Fuyang City; the indictment alleged that the three—Zhang Sen, Chang Shun and he—had repeatedly held “illegal gatherings” in their respective capacities as elder and pastors and had allowed children to participate in worship services. In particular, he had organized “illegal gathering” activities in the name of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” many times in Yingzhou District, Bengbu City, and Yingshang County from October 16, 2021; October 21, 2023; January 2024; and March–June 2025, involving many minors; it was further alleged that these pastors had also allowed their respective children to receive religiously oriented teaching and education. Therefore, their conduct constituted “disturbing social order,” was serious in nature, violated relevant provisions of the Criminal Law, and accordingly the public prosecution was initiated; from June 9–12, 2026, the case against the three was formally heard by that court, but no verdict has been issued to date. He is currently being held at the Fuyang City Detention Center (Lukan Road, Yingquan District, Fuyang City, Anhui Province; postal code: 236050).