Chinese Protestant Minister Sentenced to 7.5 years

Zhang Rongliang has been held since December 2004 on charges he obtained a passport under false pretenses and crossed the border illegally. He was sentenced to 7.5 years on July 4th. This is China's continued crackdown on religious activity that they have not sanctioned.

According to the charges against him, Zhang traveled to the United States, Australia, Egypt and Singapore for world mission conferences on a passport obtained through fraudulent means, the group said.

Zhang has set up a large network of protestant churches over the years. He preached in the villages, in the corn and bean fields of central China in the 1970's. Unregistered 'churches' such as Zhang's could number as many as 100 million over the nation.

Zhang has spent over 12 years in prison and labor camps. He also has diabetes and high blood pressure, of which he's been hospitalized for before.

Linked at Conservative Cat

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