By Ningmeng —
April 17, 2025, was the trial date for Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and his wife, Pastor Yang Rongli, of the Linfen Golden Lampstand Church case, who were charged with “fraud.” The court did not allow defense lawyers including Zhang Kai to bring computers and phones into the courtroom and refused to provide evidence that this case was a non-public case. Since all case files and software were on their computers, the lawyers could not defend without them. At the same time, the court did not follow the procedural requirements for major sensitive cases by forming a seven-person collegial panel or requesting jurisdiction from the intermediate court. Therefore, lawyer Zhang Kai requested the court to provide evidence proving that this case was a major sensitive case or required a non-public trial, which the court refused. In the end, Zhang Kai and other defense lawyers were unable to enter the courtroom and had to leave the court.
Lawyer Zhang Kai Challenges “Sensitive Case” Classification
According to lawyer Zhang Kai, the court’s reason for refusing to allow lawyers to bring computers and phones into the courtroom was based on Supreme Court regulations that, as a major sensitive case, the court should prohibit bringing electronic devices into the courtroom. Zhang Kai stated that although he found this regulation unreasonable, as a lawyer, he was willing to comply. However, he believed the court must also produce documents proving this was a sensitive case, saying, “You can’t just declare it sensitive because you say so.” Zhang Kai said: “A fraud case—what’s sensitive about it? Do you know this is a case of wrongful conviction? Moreover, according to the jury law, cases with significant impact require a seven-person collegial panel. Did you form one? You can’t apply different standards to the same case.”
Trial Commences Without Legal Representation
At five in the afternoon, after ineffective communications from multiple parties, the court still refused to allow the lawyers to enter and directly began the trial without the lawyers present. Lawyers Zhang Kai and Zeng Yue had no choice but to leave the court.
Police Surveillance and Interference with Legal Team
Lawyer Zhang Kai posted on his WeChat Moments that they would livestream their defense for Pastor Wang Xiaoguang outside the court. When they reached the court entrance, they found numerous special police vehicles. They were immediately surrounded by a large group of people in plain clothes with unclear identities who began filming them. The legal defense team asked these individuals to show identification, which was refused.
Zhang Kai’s legal defense team called a taxi to leave and released related messages on a video public account while in the car. When the taxi turned around and passed the court entrance, many special police officers ran forward to intercept the taxi. When the taxi did not stop, the police vehicles directly turned on their sirens and began pursuit.
Legal Team Temporarily Detained; Church Remains Under Pressure
At 6:15 in the evening, Zhang Kai’s legal team’s WeChat public account revealed that lawyers Zhang Kai and Zeng Yue briefly lost contact. Later, according to Zhang Kai, special police intercepted their taxi on an overpass, dozens of special police and plainclothes officers surrounded them, and forcibly put them into a special police vehicle, restricting their freedom. Finally, after communication and negotiation by Beijing Bar Association staff and other parties, the special police escorted the legal team to the high-speed railway station to leave Linfen.
The provincial governor of Shanxi was recently arrested, and the rule of law environment here is extremely poor. We urge the central government to thoroughly cleanse this area of reactionary corrupt forces. We also request Christians to pray for Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, who is a rare and sincere servant of God.
The Linfen Golden Lampstand Church has been persistently persecuted for refusing to join the Three-Self Church.
On August 7, 2021, a total of 12 pastors and co-workers were arrested and later charged with “fraud.“
On March 5, 2025, the Yaodu District Court decided to try Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang in separate cases.
A pre-trial conference for the other 10 pastors and co-workers was held on April 8, 2025. Starting from April 7, the area around the Yaodu District Court was heavily guarded as if facing a major enemy, with roads leading to the court under control and police officers at every intersection.A large number of traffic police and special police gathered at the court entrance, strictly guarding each entrance and not allowing family members and Christians to approach. This pre-trial meeting also did not allow lawyers to bring phones or computers into the courtroom.
The court’s reason was: this pre-trial meeting was a non-public trial, to prevent defense attorneys from recording and creating negative public opinion. The trial began on April 9, lasted seven days, and ended on April 14, with no public sentencing yet. All 10 pastors and co-workers insisted on not pleading guilty, bravely defended their faith in court, worked to protect other brothers and sisters, and demonstrated the good character of Christians.
