Latest Developments in the Zion Church Case: When “Law” Becomes a Fast-Track Script—What Exactly Is Law in the Eyes of the Public Security, Procuratorates and Courts?

Do you remember what the wives of lawyers said when they shaved their heads in protest during the “709” crackdown：“We can be without hair，but you cannot be without law！” Yet the absurdity of reality continues to play out。

I、The “Astonishing Speed” of the Case’s Progress

Since the Zion Church case was transferred to the procuratorate，the pace of the proceedings has seemed to take off like a rocket：

 June 18：The case was formally transferred to the procuratorate。The charges were changed directly——from “illegal use of an information network” to “fraud” and “illegal business operations”。

 The so-called “fraud”：voluntarily donated offerings by Christians to God and the church have been forcibly distorted into fraud by the pastor against believers。

 The so-called “illegal business operations”：theological advanced education and training within the church have been mischaracterised as operating without a licence。

 This is an open distortion of the history and traditions of the church，which have continued for thousands of years; it is even more naked persecution！

 July 3：The Beihai Yinhai District Procuratorate，the agency handling the case，had previously delayed providing the case files. It was not until this point that the first lawyer finally obtained the files. The entire case comprises 331 volumes，or more than 60,000 pages. The lawyer who received the files last has had them for less than a week as of now！

 Trial arrangements：The Beihai Yinhai District Court decided to hold a pretrial conference on August 10–11，followed immediately by the formal trial from August 14–18。

II、A Series of Questions：Where Is Judicial Justice？

Faced with such a hurried procedure，we cannot help but ask：

1. In the face of more than 60,000 pages of case files，have you given the lawyers sufficient time to review them？

2. Have you given the defence lawyers time to verify the facts of the case？

3. What exactly is the purpose of rushing so frantically and crudely to bring the case to trial？

When the parties’ statutory rights are deprived and legal procedures are disregarded，is this truly the practice of the rule of law，or is it merely putting on a “grand show” for the leaders to go through the motions？

III、Echoes of History：Ever-Changing Pretexts

Looking back，the pretexts for suppressing the church have continually been given an “updated” form with the times：

 The 1950s–1960s：the labels were mostly “counterrevolutionary”，“Kuomintang secret agents” and “American running dogs”。

 From the 1970s onward：they were mainly labelled “superstitious groups” and “cult organisations”。

 After 2018：the charges became further criminalised and economised，turning into “inciting subversion of state power”，“fraud”，“illegal business operations” and even “organising others to illegally cross the national border”——even when the people involved had merely gone to visa-free Jeju Island to attend training and all had returned to China on time。

IV、Additional Background and Further Discussion

Additional explanation：In recent years，in religious cases it has been a common tactic to characterise the “voluntary offerings” of house churches or independent churches as “fraud” and “internal publications or training” as “illegal business operations”。By turning religious acts of faith into “economic crimes”，the authorities handling the cases seek to deprive churches of the basis for their lawful existence while lowering the political sensitivity of the cases。However，offerings are acts of autonomous disposition by believers based on their faith. Equating religious offerings with fraud seriously departs from the principle of restraint in criminal law and basic common sense。

When people are determined to convict，no excuse is needed！Stop the persecution，release the pastors！