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International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
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Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
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| News Summaries |
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News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
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Group: South China Church |
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Founder: Gong Shengliang |
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Category: Bible |
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South China Church / China
South China Church Leaders Sentenced
The founder of the banned South China Church, Gong Shengliang, and his niece, have been sentenced to death by a court in Jingmen City following conviction on charges including "using a cult to undermine the enforcement of law," according to the Information Center for Human rights and Democracy. The niece's sentence was suspended for two years. Such sentences are usually
commuted to life in prison.
Seventeen other church members received sentences of from two years to life. The 50,000 member fundamentalist, evangelical church — spread over some ten provinces in eastern and central China — defied the law requiring Protestants to worship only in the state-controlled nondenominational church. At a secret trial on December 18, Gong was also convicted of complicity in
rape and injuring 14 people during church rituals. Gong's niece was also charged with being the founder of the "Hunan Special Periodical," an underground Christian publication, of which a total of 500,000 copies in 48 issues were printed since it began in 1994. The South China Church is one of 16 "underground" Christian churches identified by the Chinese government, and the
leaders of two of them have already been executed. (AP, 12/30/01, Internet; BBC Monitoring Asia-Pacific-Political, 12/31/01 Internet; Craig S. Smith, New York Times, 12/31/01)
_____________________________________________ ^ |
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___________________________________________^ |
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International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
|
|
|
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
|
| _______________________________________________ |
| News Summaries |
|
| |
News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
|
| |
Group: South China Church |
|
|
Founder: Gong Shengliang |
| |
Category: Bible |
|
|
|
South China Church / China
South China Church Leaders Sentenced
The founder of the banned South China Church, Gong Shengliang, and his niece, have been sentenced to death by a court in Jingmen City following conviction on charges including "using a cult to undermine the enforcement of law," according to the Information Center for Human rights and Democracy. The niece's sentence was suspended for two years. Such sentences are usually
commuted to life in prison.
Seventeen other church members received sentences of from two years to life. The 50,000 member fundamentalist, evangelical church — spread over some ten provinces in eastern and central China — defied the law requiring Protestants to worship only in the state-controlled nondenominational church. At a secret trial on December 18, Gong was also convicted of complicity in
rape and injuring 14 people during church rituals. Gong's niece was also charged with being the founder of the "Hunan Special Periodical," an underground Christian publication, of which a total of 500,000 copies in 48 issues were printed since it began in 1994. The South China Church is one of 16 "underground" Christian churches identified by the Chinese government, and the
leaders of two of them have already been executed. (AP, 12/30/01, Internet; BBC Monitoring Asia-Pacific-Political, 12/31/01 Internet; Craig S. Smith, New York Times, 12/31/01)
_____________________________________________ ^ |
|
|
___________________________________________^ |
| |
|
International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
|
|
|
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
|
| _______________________________________________ |
| News Summaries |
|
| |
News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
|
| |
Group: South China Church |
|
|
Founder: Gong Shengliang |
| |
Category: Bible |
|
|
|
South China Church / China
South China Church Leaders Sentenced
The founder of the banned South China Church, Gong Shengliang, and his niece, have been sentenced to death by a court in Jingmen City following conviction on charges including "using a cult to undermine the enforcement of law," according to the Information Center for Human rights and Democracy. The niece's sentence was suspended for two years. Such sentences are usually
commuted to life in prison.
Seventeen other church members received sentences of from two years to life. The 50,000 member fundamentalist, evangelical church — spread over some ten provinces in eastern and central China — defied the law requiring Protestants to worship only in the state-controlled nondenominational church. At a secret trial on December 18, Gong was also convicted of complicity in
rape and injuring 14 people during church rituals. Gong's niece was also charged with being the founder of the "Hunan Special Periodical," an underground Christian publication, of which a total of 500,000 copies in 48 issues were printed since it began in 1994. The South China Church is one of 16 "underground" Christian churches identified by the Chinese government, and the
leaders of two of them have already been executed. (AP, 12/30/01, Internet; BBC Monitoring Asia-Pacific-Political, 12/31/01 Internet; Craig S. Smith, New York Times, 12/31/01)
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