Chinese authorities have released a pastor who was reportedly tortured in detention and accused of fraud and endangering national security, more than four years after opening a case against him and two others connected to an unregistered church.
Pastor Lian Xuliang, leader of the Xi’an Church of Abundance in Shaanxi province, returned home earlier this month, according to ChinaAid, which cited the Chinese rights group Weiquanwang. The status of the criminal case against Lian and the fate of his two co-defendants — preacher Fu Juan and Lian’s father, Pastor Lian Changnian — remain unclear.
Authorities arrested the three church members on Aug. 17, 2022, accusing them of fraud and “endangering national security.” They were initially placed under “residential surveillance at a designated location,” a form of secret detention in which suspects are held at a government-selected site. According to the rights group Church in Chains, the three were held separately in small rooms at a converted hotel for six months without their families being informed of their whereabouts.
Rights groups have alleged that the detainees endured severe mistreatment, including starvation, beatings, drugging and prolonged denial of access to bathrooms. A church prayer letter later reported that Lian Xuliang suffered serious abuse while in custody. Authorities also banned the Xi’an Church of Abundance in August 2022, declaring it an illegal social organization because it operated without government registration.
The case was formally advanced in 2023, when the three were transferred to criminal detention and prosecutors obtained approval for their arrests. Authorities subsequently summoned church members and allegedly pressured them through intimidation and torture to accuse the pastors of fraud and renounce their faith. Several people identified as alleged victims, however, said they had voluntarily donated money to the church.
The prosecution’s case reportedly relied heavily on the accusation of a woman named Qin Wen. She later said she had not been defrauded and had been coerced into making the allegations. Qin subsequently hired a lawyer to help clear the pastors and lost her kindergarten job after doing so.
The case reached court in January 2024, with prosecutors seeking five-year prison sentences for each defendant. In April 2025, authorities placed the three under surveillance again and released them on bail. Lian Changnian, then 71, was in poor health and required hospital treatment after years in custody.
Medical evaluations reportedly documented serious physical and psychological problems. A 2025 examination found an “organic mental disorder” accompanied by anxiety and severe fatigue, while an MRI revealed spinal damage. A lawyer who visited Lian Changnian in September 2024 also reported cognitive decline and hallucinations, saying the pastor feared he would be poisoned or strangled while sleeping.
Despite the health concerns, authorities detained the three again on Nov. 2, 2025, after judges had taken up the case without issuing a verdict. Lian Changnian was reportedly taken from his home to a detention center while still receiving medical treatment. The current status of Fu Juan and Lian Changnian remains unclear.
The Xi’an Church of Abundance was founded in the early 1990s by Lian Changnian and has faced increasing pressure because of its independence from China’s state-controlled religious system. Lian also holds a leadership position in the China Gospel Fellowship, an unauthorized network of churches that has faced years of government persecution.
The case is part of a broader crackdown on unregistered Christian congregations in China. Authorities have increasingly used fraud allegations against independent church leaders, while rights advocates say such charges can be used to suppress churches that refuse to operate under government control.
