Lian Xuliang (廉旭亮) is a pastor of the Church of Abundance, an unregistered Protestant house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and the son of founding pastor Lian Changnian. He returned home on September 5, 2026 after more than four years in a fraud prosecution that had not produced a reported verdict.
ChinaAid, USCIRF, and other religious-freedom outlets report that Lian, his father, and preacher Fu Juan were placed under residential surveillance at a designated location on August 17, 2022 on suspicion of “fraud.” Xi’an civil-affairs authorities reportedly banned the Church of Abundance two days later as an unregistered social organization. USCIRF records Lian Xuliang’s detention date as August 17, 2022 and later formal arrest in March 2023.
Sources report that the three were released on bail in April 2025 while the case proceeded. Bitter Winter reported trial proceedings beginning June 24, 2025, while ChinaAid reported a July 9 hearing. No verdict was reported. The differing dates may reflect separate hearings and remain unresolved.
On November 2, 2025, the three defendants were detained again while awaiting a verdict, according to Christian Post and ChinaAid reporting, and were held at the Weiyang District Detention Center in Xi’an.
On September 5, 2026, Lian Xuliang returned home. ChinaAid reported the release on September 8, and The Red Lighthouse reported it again on September 17. No authority explanation of the release was located.
Status: released September 5, 2026. This release is not presented as an acquittal, case dismissal, or confirmation that the prosecution is closed; the legal status of the case remains unknown.
Sources: ChinaAid, September 8, 2026; USCIRF; The Red Lighthouse; Bitter Winter.
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