China: Cult leaders could face execution

The Three Grades Servant sect, even though they claim to be Christians and adhere to the Bible, is considered a heresy by mainstream house churches in China

Spero News/November 14, 2006

China's Heilongjiang Higher People's Court is scheduled to retry November 17-19 the case of the "Three Grades Servants", according to the China Aid Association.

According to CAA, the "Three Grades Servant" sect, even though they claim to be Christians and adhere to the Bible, is considered a heresy by mainstream house churches in China, because of their extreme doctrine. The Eastern Lightening group founded by a woman named Zheng, who claims to be China's female reincarnation of Jesus Christ, is widely acknowledged by house churches to be a cult and a criminal religious group.

The CAA claims that given the retrial, in December it is very possible that the death sentence issued by the Shuang Yashan Intermediate People's Court in the first trial will be upheld for Xu Shengguang and 2 other church leaders.

According to an amendment passed by the 24th Conference of the Chinese Standing Committee of the People's National Congress, beginning January 2007, the Chinese Supreme Court can reverse a Provincial Court's death sentence. Unfortunately the mid-December verdict date for Xu falls two or three weeks prior to the effective date of the new procedure. So if the death sentences are upheld in the second trial, Xu and the others will face execution.

The second trial was held in the Shuang Yashan Intermediate People's Court room by judges from the Provincial Higher Court. Officers from National Jurisdiction Organs and the National Religious Affairs Bureau were also present. Only 15 of the 16 defendants appealed for a second trial, reports CAA.

The court allowed one relative of each suspected criminal to be present at the trial, although some 100 people were present in the audience, said CAA, adding that according to the eyewitnesses, Xu seemed physically and mentally well during the trial.

The defense argued that there is no evidence to prove Xu and the other two church leaders were directly involved or took part in organizing and abetting the murder of the members of the Eastern Lightening religious group.

"We are closely monitoring the progress of this case," said Rev. Bob Fu, the president of CAA, "We appeal to the Heilongjiang Higher People's Court to try this case in a just and fair manor according to the Chinese Constitution."