Xi’an Zion’s Light 516 Case to Hold Pretrial Conference on August 10, 2026

On August 2, 2026, this outlet learned that the Xi’an Zion’s Light 516 case will hold a pretrial conference on August 10, 2026.

According to a statement from Gao Quanfu’s son, Gao Putong: “This morning I learned from the lawyers that the court had convened a pretrial conference for the case of my father, Pastor Gao Quanfu (August 10), and my heart sank. The timing is unsettling. A pastor nearing 70 has been unjustly detained for more than 14 months simply because of his Christian faith. My mother, Pang Yu, also nearing 70, has been detained for more than 13 months simply because she is the pastor’s wife. What they have experienced is unimaginable. Unless my parents are released unconditionally, no outcome is acceptable.”

Introduction to the case involving Xi’an Zion’s Light Church: It began on May 16, 2025, and nearly 14 months have now passed. At the Beilin District Detention Center in Xi’an during the winter, there was no hot water for bathing and no reasonable space to store thick clothing for changing. The couple, 69-year-old Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, and 40-year-old Pastor Tang Bingyi, were held there. Ms. Pang Yu, Pastor Gao Quanfu’s wife, has suffered from heart disease for many years. There was no effective medication to control it inside the detention center; her heart frequently hurt during the night shift, and she was sometimes even unable to use the toilet normally.

These three people were originally part of the same case, but the authorities have violated the legal basis for handling the matter as separate cases and have treated the same case as three cases. This is unreasonable, unjust, and illegal.

Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, as well as Pastor Tang Bingyi, were indicted on fraud charges by the Beilin District Procuratorate in Xi’an and brought before the Beilin District Court before the Spring Festival. Their defense lawyers have reviewed the case files, and the families have also learned of the sentencing recommendations. The authorities have regarded all of the tithes and other voluntary offerings from members of Xi’an Zion’s Light Church—even payments made by non-members to purchase books or other items at the church—as proceeds obtained through fraud by the pastoral workers, totaling more than two million yuan.

According to this logic, all offerings made by members of China’s house churches in accordance with the Bible will be regarded by the relevant authorities as proceeds obtained through fraud by pastoral workers; all pastoral workers in China’s house churches will be regarded as fraudsters; and the offerings of Christian churches over the past 2,000 years will become evidence of the crimes of pastoral workers. This is a total disregard for and flagrant insult to the offering tradition of the universal Christian church over more than 2,000 years.

This outlet will continue to follow developments in the case involving Xi’an Zion’s Light Church.