This archive preserves the source record behind the Sun Chenghao 孙成浩 profile: the 2025 reporting on his detention and pre-trial stage, the November 2025 sentence, and the September 2026 health reports, with provenance and limitations noted. Allegations remain attributed rather than stated as fact.
ChinaAid — “Korean Chinese Pastor Sun Chenghao Arrested for ‘Organizing Border Crossing’ in Zhangye, Gansu Province Despite Legal Travel with Passport” (March 5, 2025)
(chinaaid.org, opened and read in full: article link) Primary arrest report: the August 2023 Jeju Island trip through legal channels; the December 15, 2023 criminal detention by Zhangye PSB on suspicion of “organizing illegal border crossings”; holding at Ganzhou District Detention Center; the formal arrest; family circumstances; and parallel cases charged under the same offense. Source grade: recognized human-rights NGO focused on religious persecution in China; strongest primary case source; attributed.
ChinaAid — “‘I Think This Is My Doctoral Program’: Pastor Sun Chenghao, Charged with ‘Organizing Others to Illegally Cross National Borders,’ Reflects in Prison” (April 24, 2025)
(chinaaid.org, opened and read in full: article link) Pre-trial-stage report with Sun’s own written reflections from detention, his wife’s April 19, 2025 prayer-request letter, background on his calling and the Jeju trip, and the indictment status. Preserves Sun’s own voice from custody — the item’s distinctive archival value. Source grade: human-rights NGO; attributed; family/subject statements clearly identified.
Bitter Winter — “Tourism as Treason: Pastor Sun Chenghao Sentenced to Four and a Half Years for a Trip” (late 2025)
(bitterwinter.org, opened and read in full: article link) Sentencing report: the December 15, 2023 arrest; the November 20, 2025 Ganzhou District People’s Court sentence of four years and six months plus the 10,000-yuan fine; the term running to June 15, 2028; background on Sun’s family and ministry; and analysis of how the border-crossing charge has been applied to house-church Christians. Source grade: established independent media on religious freedom; strongest sentence record with exact term dates; attributed.
Voice of the Martyrs Australia — “CHINA: Imprisoned Chinese Pastor’s Health Reportedly Declining” (September 2026)
(vom.com.au, opened and read in full: article link) Health report: the wife’s August 25 open letter; the reported loss of consciousness; case recap (August 2023 trip, December 2023 detention, November 2025 sentence, term to June 2028); family and lawyers’ position that the travel was legal; and the note that local authorities had not publicly provided further information about his health. Source: ChinaAid, re-reported. Source grade: monitoring/advocacy organization; key health-chronology item; attributed.
Free China Movement statement — “Reported Loss of Consciousness by Pastor Sun Chenghao Demands Immediate Medical Transparency” (September 2, 2026)
(FCM statement, opened and read in full; identical editions in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, and Spanish are duplicates of the same statement.) FCM’s own statement: cites the September 1, 2026 ChinaAid report; summarizes the detention (December 2023), sentence (November 2025, four years six months, 10,000-yuan fine), and family objections as source-attributed; calls for medical evaluation, family communication, counsel access, and credible verification. The multilingual editions are translations of this one statement. Source grade: own-site advocacy statement; documents FCM’s public position; attributed.
Free China Movement Rapid Response — “Reported Loss of Consciousness in Custody Requires Immediate Medical Transparency” (September 2026)
(FCM rapid response, verified live.) Rapid-response item on the same September 2026 health report; a separate own-site item from the statement. Source grade: own-site; attributed.
Free China Movement news — “Imprisoned Pastor Sun Chenghao Reportedly Lost Consciousness as Family Raises Health Concerns” (September 2026)
(FCM news item, verified live.) News item on the family’s health report; multilingual editions are translations of the same item. Source grade: own-site; attributed.
Syndicated copies (recorded; canonical above)
The Association for the Defense of Human Rights and Religious Freedom item “Tourism as Treason” (en.adhrrf.org/tourism-as-treason.html) and the Freedom of Belief reprint (freedomofbelief.net) are duplicates/syndications of the Bitter Winter piece — canonical is the Bitter Winter URL. Status: DUPLICATE.
Consulate / official-source check
No PRC official statement on Sun Chenghao’s case was located. Voice of the Martyrs notes local authorities have not publicly provided further information about his health. No consular/diplomatic case record found in the sources consulted. Result: not found.
Contradictions and evidence gaps
No contradictions between sources; dates, charge, court, sentence, and term are consistent across ChinaAid, Bitter Winter, and VOM. Gaps: no court judgment document located; no official charge sheet; detention-facility assignment after sentencing not stated beyond the term dates; no family interview beyond the reported letters (ChinaAid-filtered).
Return to the Sun Chenghao / 孙成浩 person profile.