Chinese authorities impose $1 million fine on banned house church

Chinese authorities have imposed a fine amounting to 7 million yuan ($1,020,200 USD) on a banned house church in China's central Guizhou province.

On the evening of May 19, Su Tianfu, one of the pastors of Huoshi Church, had received a notice from officials of the Nanming District Religious Affairs Bureau, claiming he and another pastor owed a fine of over 7 million yuan.

The other pastor, Yang Hua, has been convicted of "divulging state secrets" and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by a court in Guizhou in January.

According to Su, the original fine on the church was 100,000 yuan ($14,500 USD), but the government raised it to more than 200,000 yuan ($29,000 USD). He said that the authorities confiscated the private property of the church officials, including his private residence and the car of Huoshi Church accountant Zhang Xiuhong, because they did not have enough money to pay the fine.

Zhang was sentenced to five years in prison in February after she was found guilty of "illegal business operations."

The administrative penalty notice claimed that Su and Yang violated the law because they established religious sites without authorization. The bureau's investigation had concluded that the two pastors had received donations totaling 7,053,710.68 yuan between April 2009 and November 2015, when the church was shut down.

"By this 7 million yuan total, the government meant the total sum of donations the church received from the very first gathering on April 10, 2009 to the last one on Dec. 9, 2015, when the church was banned," Su told China Aid.

"The [officials] confiscated the church's account book after arresting Zhang Xiuhong. They used that to calculate the donation money we have received," he added.

Su fears that the authorities may attempt to confiscate the private properties of church members since the church is not able to pay the 7 million yuan fine. The donations received by the church have been spent on operating costs and daily expenses, including helping church members in trouble.

Yang's wife, Wang Hongwu, also shared Su's concern that the government might confiscate the houses of church members. "It's certain that the government will take everything away. I have no idea how this happened. This penalty does not make sense," she said.

Su is now planning to apply for administrative review and to ask the government to revoke the fine.