China has sentenced a prominent pastor who operated outside the Communist Party-recognized Protestant organization to nine years in prison for subversion.
Wang Yi had led the Early Rain Covenant Church and was arrested a year ago during China’s ongoing crackdown on all unauthorized religious groups.
The government requires Christian faithful to worship only in churches under Communist Party control.
Even so, the officially atheist government has moved to rein in religious expression, including removing crosses from official and unofficial churches.
Wang had been critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping and made a point of holding a prayer service each year to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. (The Associated Press)
