ICC Note: It’s positive news that leaders are speaking out against China’s ridiculous sequence of skewed “trials” of political prisoners. Bob Fu of China Aid continues to be a leading advocate for Chinese suffering Communist oppression, but many other voices must join his in order for a regime as obstinate as President Xi’s to feel great enough pressure that they may consider making actual changes. This is an interminably more difficult result to bring about in an authoritarian regime like China which already will feel little need to change if it continues to prevent enough of its citizens from having any idea that the Communist Party is as wicked as it is; however, with China’s rising role in the world and the rise of Christianity, we may be optimistic that the sound of our voices raised high worldwide in support of persecuted Christians can help transform China’s future.

8/12/ 2016 Tianjen, China (The Christian Times) – China draws criticism for sentencing in highly suspect trials two house church leaders and two other activists detained from last year’s nationwide political crackdown.

The United States and several human rights advocates blasted China for convicting house church leaders Hu Shigen and Gou Hongguo, as well as human rights advocate Zhai Yanmin and human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng on charges of subversion in surprise trials last week.

Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court handed Hu, a 61-year-old church elder, with seven and a half years imprisonment Wednesday while Gou, a 55-year-old Christian activist, received Friday a three-year suspended sentence.

The court also gave 55-year-old Zhai with a three-year suspension sentence Tuesday while Zhou, the 52-year-old director of Fengrui law firm, received a seven-year sentence.

The communist state arrested more than 200 activists and lawyers, including the four convicted individual, in its nationwide political clampdown in July last year.

“After more than 12 months of arbitrary arrest and detention in ‘black jails’ without any legitimate legal representation or family visitations, these rushed trials and harsh sentences are clearly nothing but political and religious persecution,” said Bob Fu, China Aid president, in a statement Friday.