This archive collects the reported coverage and primary documents for the case of Pastor Chang Shun (常顺) of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang, Anhui, who was convicted in August 2026 of “organizing illegal gatherings.” Items are ordered chronologically; limitations and conflicts are recorded at the end.
Source chronology
- 2024-03-14 — Sunday raid on the church (ChinaAid, cited in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s 2024 annual report). ChinaAid reported that a Sunday gathering of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang was raided and nine Christians, including “Preacher Chang Shun,” were detained.
- 2025-06-29 — Criminal detention (ChinaAid, reported 2025-08-08). Pastor Chang Shun was taken from his home during Sunday worship and criminally detained the next day on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings.” Elder Ma Tao was detained the same day; Pastor Zhang Sen was arrested on July 9 in Xuzhou. The report said the three remained in detention with specific charges undisclosed at that stage.
- 2025-08-08 — Wife’s open prayer letter (ChinaAid). Li Yunyan, Pastor Chang’s wife, published an open letter describing the June 29 seizure in detail — individuals claiming to be community workers forcing entry, friends and relatives taken for questioning and held until late at night — and reporting the harassment she faced afterward: changed door locks, water cut off, surveillance cameras, a car tracker, and being followed. She wrote that her husband had faced persecution since 2021, with administrative detentions and fines in 2021, 2022, and 2024, and that all family appeals had failed. The letter closes by quoting Psalm 34:17 and appealing for prayer.
- 2025-09-05 — Children’s letters (ChinaAid). A ChinaAid report reprinting family material carried handwritten letters from Pastor Chang’s children expressing longing for their father during his detention. The names of minor children are not reproduced in this archive.
- 2025-10 — Case transferred for prosecution; indictment (Dui Hua Foundation, Prisoner Updates 2025 #9). Dui Hua reported that in October 2025 the Fuyang authorities transferred the Wheatseed (Maizhong) Reformed Church case to the procuratorate, and that Pastors Zhang Sen (张森) and Chang Shun (常顺) and elder Ma Shutao (马树涛) were formally indicted on charges of “organizing illegal gatherings” for leading unregistered religious meetings and allegedly preaching to minors. Note: Dui Hua renders the elder as “Ma Shutao (马树涛)” while ChinaAid renders him “Ma Tao”; both refer to the same co-defendant on this case.
- 2026-06-05 — Wives’ diplomatic appeal (ChinaAid). The wives of the three detained leaders — Xu Chao (wife of Pastor Zhang Sen), Li Yunyan (wife of Pastor Chang Shun), and Li Mei (wife of Elder Ma Tao) — wrote to ambassadors and diplomatic representatives in Beijing inviting them to observe the upcoming trial proceedings, then expected June 9–12 at the Fuyang Intermediate People’s Court.
- 2026-06-12 — Indictment made public after trial (ChinaAid). Following a two-day trial held June 9–10, the indictment was released by Xu Chao. Prosecutors charged the three men with “organizing illegal gatherings,” citing home worship gatherings, wedding ceremonies, religiously influenced education for members’ children in private homes, and welcoming believers released from administrative detention.
- 2026-08-15 — Verdict report (Gospel Herald). The Fuyang City Yingzhou District People’s Court sentenced the three men: Chang Shun to one year and six months, Zhang Sen to one year and seven months, and Ma Tao to one year and four months, all for “organizing illegal gatherings.” The judgments were served on the lawyers on August 13, 2026. The report gives the reported end of Chang Shun’s term as November 18, 2026 (with detention credited day for day), and says the families would appeal, quoting the wives’ joint statement: “from the legal level we know they were not convicted for breaking earthly law but for their faith.”
- Undated (published after the verdict) — Interview with the couple (Gospel Herald). A long interview with Li Yunyan recounts the June 29, 2025 seizure from the family’s perspective and gives biographical background: his high-school leukemia, his mother’s prayers, his baptism on April 8, 2010, meeting his wife in seminary, and the family’s life during more than 400 days of detention.
Source provenance and limitations
- ChinaAid is an advocacy organization reporting from family and church sources; its accounts are consistent across four reports over 2025–2026 and are corroborated on the indictment by Dui Hua and on the verdict by the Gospel Herald.
- The Gospel Herald’s verdict report cites the written judgments served on counsel and is the most authoritative source on the sentence.
- Dui Hua’s prisoner-update series is an independent monitoring source; its rendering “Ma Shutao (马树涛)” differs from ChinaAid’s “Ma Tao” for the same co-defendant.
- No official court notice or state-media account of this case has been located.
Conflicts and caveats
- Trial venue/court (UNRESOLVED): the wives’ pre-trial letter refers to proceedings at the Fuyang Intermediate People’s Court, June 9–12; the judgment-citing verdict report states the trial was June 9–10 at the Fuyang City Yingzhou District People’s Court (阜阳市颍州区人民法院). The judgment-citing source is treated as more authoritative on venue.
- Sentence term end date (CAUTION): the Gospel Herald reports Chang Shun’s term running to November 18, 2026. Day-for-day arithmetic from the June 29, 2025 detention date does not align exactly with this figure; it is preserved strictly as the source’s statement, not presented as an independently verified release date.
- Status: the conviction and appeal intent are dated August 2026; the current-custody classification is anchored to the Issue 131 roster (August 31, 2026). Re-verify after November 2026.
Return to the Chang Shun (常顺) person profile.