by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - An evangelical church leader imprisoned in Sichuan province, China, on charges of fraud, insists he is innocent and has refused to accept the prosecution’s offer to release him if he would just plead guilty, China Aid reports.
A man of excellent reputation, Elder Hao Ming of Deyang Qingcaodi Reformed Church in Sichuan Province, was arrested together with fellow leader Elder Wu Jiannan on Nov. 17, 2021, China Aid reports.
The two Christians were criminally charged with fraud after authorities learned Hao Ming received a monthly book allowance of $14 and Wu Jiannan received a monthly ministerial salary of $424 from tithes and offerings given by their congregation.
The case was brought to trial at Jinyang District Court in Deyang City, with the two elders facing charges of fraud that carry a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment, China Aid reports. After applications by the defendants’ lawyers, in August last year, the Sichuan Provincial High Court, Deyang City People’s Procuratorate altered the indictment to reflect charges that carry three years or more.
Since then, Hao Ming has been approached to plead guilty to the lesser charge and be released, China Aid reports. He has refused to do so. “Both elders and their legal representatives insist that offering and tithe is a biblical teaching and a tradition of the church, and it should not be construed as fraud,” China Aid explained in its report.
Ruled by the powerful, paranoid, authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China ranks 16th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.