UPDATE 3 September 2024: China Aid reports that Wu Wuqing and his family have remained in their home through August despite continuing pressure from local government to move out. Water and electricity have repeatedly been cut off, which has been particularly difficult during peak summer heat in Chengdu. Following intermittent outages, electricity has been cut off every day since 25 July (first by damaging the switch and later by cutting the wires) and water has been cut off since 29 July. Natural gas was cut off on 7 August but was restored the next day after Preacher Wu called the gas company several times.
Guards have been dispatched outside the apartment door and follow Preacher Wu whenever he goes out, and the lock and doorknob have been sprayed with glue multiple times. In addition, every night at 2 am and 4 am unidentified people knock on the door, waking the family.
Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) reports that its preacher Wu Wuqing is under pressure from local police and that water and electricity have been cut off to force him and his family to move out of the apartment they rent in Jinke Tianchen Community in Chengdu’s Wenjiang district.
ERCC reports that unidentified individuals recently threatened Wu Wuqing and his family, telling them to move out quickly and secretly cutting their electricity wires. Then on 29 July the property management cut off the water supply and the door to the water meter room on Preacher Wu’s floor was locked. The family asked the property management to repair it several times, but management said it would no longer provide maintenance services. Multiple calls to Chengdu’s municipal hotline failed to resolve the issue.
ERCC expressed gratitude to God for giving Wu Wuqing’s family a calm and peaceful heart, adding that the family has experienced such persecution very often in recent years.
Preacher Wu commented, “The enemy knows that cutting off water and electricity like this is illegal, yet they still do it. This is persecution because of our faith, something that every Christian who holds fast to pure faith will encounter, and it’s also an opportunity God gives us to earn rewards!
“I don’t want brothers and sisters to feel anger or resentment when they see this message. Instead, I hope brothers and sisters can kneel down and pray for us, asking God to have mercy on us, so that in such circumstances, we can overcome all this by God’s grace! When you pray for us, it shows that you identify with the hardships we are experiencing as your own hardships, that you are suffering with us! We will surely share in glory in the future! Amen!”
ERCC is a large, unregistered house church that has suffered intense persecution since December 2018, when more than 150 members were detained following a raid. Its pastor, Wang Yi, is serving a nine-year prison sentence and the authorities continue to harass church members.
Preacher Wu has repeatedly been detained, had his car tyres punctured and has even been blocked from entering his residential complex by security guards and had his furniture thrown into waste disposal stations. Water and electricity supplies have been cut off multiple times since autumn 2020 in an effort to force the family to move out.
Detained
Preacher Wu’s most recent detention was on 25 February, when ERCC held its first in-person Sunday worship of 2024 in a rented hotel space. Two people were baptised and ten Christians joined the church. After the service police from Dongsheng police station took Preacher Wu away and later that day his family received a detention notice stating that he was administratively detained for 14 days by the Shuangliu branch of Chengdu Public Security Bureau on suspicion of “organising illegal gatherings”. He was sent to the Shuangliu District Detention Centre that evening.
(China Aid)
Photo: China Aid