By: Jon Brown – Fox News; foxnews.com
Pastor Yang Xibo greets news of $55,100 fine by thanking God ‘for allowing us to have a part in His affliction’
The pastor of a large house church in China is facing steep fines from the Chinese government in what a watchdog group is describing as a case of religious persecution.
Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife, Wang Xiaofei, who lead the Xunsiding Church, have been slapped with a combined fine of 400,000 yuan — or roughly $55,100 — for organizing religious activities, according to Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid, which keeps an eye on Christian persecution in China.
Xunsiding Church is the largest house church in Xiamen, a port city on China’s southeast coast across a strait from Taiwan. House churches are Christian congregations that have not registered with China’s official Protestant or Roman Catholic churches.
The fine, which the Christian couple has been battling since 2021, was reportedly doubled on June 28, according to ChinaAid. The two recently announced on social media that they are refusing to pay.
cont’d…