Lian Changnian (廉长年) is the founding pastor of the Church of Abundance, an unregistered Protestant house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and the father of fellow pastor Lian Xuliang.
ChinaAid and other religious-freedom outlets report that Lian, his son, and preacher Fu Juan were placed under residential surveillance at a designated location on August 17, 2022 on suspicion of “fraud.” Two days later, Xi’an’s civil-affairs authorities reportedly banned the Church of Abundance as an unregistered social organization. USCIRF records Lian Changnian’s detention date as August 17, 2022 and later formal arrest on a fraud allegation in March 2023.
Sources report that the three were released on bail in April 2025 while the case proceeded. Bitter Winter reported that proceedings began at the Baqiao District Court on June 24, 2025, while ChinaAid reported a hearing on July 9. No verdict was reported. The date discrepancy may reflect separate hearings and remains unresolved.
On November 2, 2025, according to ChinaAid and Christian Post reporting, the three defendants were detained again while still awaiting a verdict. Lian Changnian, then reported to be 71 and undergoing hospital treatment, was taken to the Weiyang District Detention Center in Xi’an.
Rights Defense Network Issue 131, dated August 31, 2026, lists 廉长年 / Lian Changnian among people classified as detained without trial in Shaanxi. His son Lian Xuliang was reported released on September 5, 2026, but no reliable source located confirms that Lian Changnian was also released.
Current status: unconfirmed after the August 31, 2026 roster listing. This page does not infer release, continued detention, or case closure beyond the dated evidence.
Sources: ChinaAid, September 8, 2026; USCIRF FoRB Victims Database; Bitter Winter; Christian Post.
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