GUANGDONG, Aug. 13 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Following two years of repeated evictions and harassment, Liangren House Church faced more uncertainty this week, when the church was evicted from the Zhuying Hotel on August 11th, and head Pastor Wang Dao was harassed, detained, and interrogated. ChinaAid received the following message from a Liangren Church member on Thursday, August 12:
"Liangren House Church is again being driven away and suppressed by the government authorities of Guangzhou! On August 11, Zhuying Hotel, under great pressures from the police and other government agencies, unilaterally terminated the one-year lease contract it signed with Pastor Wang Dao on July 16. (We have had to move several dozens of times in the past two years!)"
"On the morning of August 12th, Pastor Wang Dao was unreasonably harassed by five police officers from the Municipal Domestic Security Protection Squad and Nanpu Police Station at his residence in Chengzhong Village, which he had just rented. From May 8 to June 13, Pastor Wang Dao was placed on criminal detention for insisting on gathering in his house for worship. Now, the sentence has been changed to bail pending trial! Please pray for our in-door gatherings! We also request our brothers and sisters to forward this letter of intercession!"
Pastor Wang Dao has been repeatedly arrested and detained for leading worship gatherings in his home--the most recent being his arrest on May 9 of this year, when he was threatened with exile and was denied meeting with his lawyers. He was released on June 13 on bail to await trial at home. Authorities gave no explanation for his harassment on Thursday.
This morning, at about 10:30 AM August 13th, (Beijing Time) Pastor Wang Dao was taken from his home by Guangzhou public security officers to the Luopu PSB Station, while his wife Sun was away from the house. At 10:45 AM, Sun received a call from the police, requesting she also come to the PSB station.
In response, ChinaAid released a press release in Mandarin to the media immediately, to help spread awareness of the incident. While on her way to the PSB station only minutes later, Sun received a call on her cell phone from the PSB, informing her she did not need to come to the station after all. At 11:20 AM, Pastor Wang Dao was released to his home.
ChinaAid thanks the international community for their support, and believes that raising awareness of these cases are vital to changing the outcome for these persecuted faithfuls. We urge the Guangzhou authorities to cease their persecution of Liangren Church and Pastor Wang Dao, and to respect the rights of the citizens to freedom of belief and worship, by allowing them to meet regularly in their own church space.
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