Three members of Kunming Family Church accused of “organizing illegal gatherings”: pre-trial session held, trial will be held on September 16

Three Christians in Yunnan Qingming Century New City Church, Li, Li, and Roping, were detained for several months on suspicion of “organizing an illegal assembly crime”, and the case entered trial. According to public information from ChinaAid, People’s Living Observatory, the court meeting was scheduled for September 2, and the formal trial is expected to take place on September 16.

Currently, the public information is mainly from religious freedom and human rights organizations, which have not yet received a public court judgment or a complete indictment.Therefore, the three are currently facing criminal charges, which is not the same as having been convicted by the court.

Sunday party shocked by police

According to ChinaAid disclosed, on April 12, 2026, during the Sunday gathering of the Qingming Century New City Church, several law enforcement officers entered the gathering site, and Zhu Xiaolin, Li Group and Lu equals were then taken away.

Public reports indicate that the three were subsequently detained in criminal custody. On May 20th, Li, Li and Roping were formally arrested on suspicion of “organizing an illegal gathering” and detained at the Kunming Municipal Official Transit District Detention Center.

Related information from the Qingming Century New City Church case shows that the case gradually entered the stage of review and prosecution and trial after the police took coercive measures.

Three people accused of “organizing illegal gatherings”

According to the relevant human rights organizations disclosed, the allegations involved in the case are related to the religious gathering activities of the Church of the New City of the Century. Family churches have long faced administrative and law enforcement pressure in the fields of registration, venues, gatherings and personal activities because they did not join the "three-self-patriotic movement" system officially controlled by the Communist Party of China.

It should be noted that the public information that can be verified so far is mainly from ChinaAid, People's Living Observatory and other agencies. Regarding the prosecutor's specific criminal facts, evidence catalogue and defense opinions on the three persons, it is still necessary to further confirm the court, prosecutor's public documents or legal materials disclosed by lawyers.

The health condition of the forest is concerned.

ChinaAid previously that his family and church members were concerned about his physical condition during his detention and concerned that long-term detention could have further effects on his health.

Due to the current lack of complete medical records published by detention or medical institutions, Focus China cannot independently confirm its specific health status, so the relevant situation should still be based on family members, lawyers and subsequently publicly verified medical data.

The trial is scheduled for September 16

According to the current public case process, the trio’s cases are scheduled for a pre-trial meeting on September 2 and are expected to open the trial on September

1. The pre-trial meetings usually involve issues such as procedures, evidence, disputes and court arrangements, but the specific content of the meeting has not yet been published in full judicial documents.

The next phase of the case will focus on whether the court will allow the family and the public to listen, whether the three lawyers can fully exercise their rights of defence, how prosecutors will interpret the relationship between allegations of “organizing illegal gatherings” and religious gatherings, and whether the final trial will disclose relevant evidence.

Home Church Religious Freedom Again Concerned

The Chinese Constitution stipulates that citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief, but the Chinese government has stepped up its administrative and political control over religious activities in recent years, and family churches that do not have access to the official religious management system are vulnerable to seizure, dispersal of gatherings, administrative punishment and even criminal prosecution.

International religious freedom and human rights organizations have long criticized Beijing for restricting independent religious activities on grounds of national security, social administration and religious affairs supervision.The officials of the Communist Party of China claim to guarantee religious freedom in accordance with the law, while demanding that religious groups abide by Chinese laws and promote the so-called “religious Chineseization.”

Whether a new judicial ruling will be formed in the Qingming Century New City Church trial is still pending to the court’s conclusions. At this stage, it can be confirmed that Hu Jianlin, Li Gong and Roping have entered criminal judicial proceedings on suspicion of “organizing an illegal gathering”; the relevant charges should not be expressed as criminal facts that have already been established before the court ruling comes into effect.

Focus on China will continue to focus on the September 16 trial, legal material disclosed by lawyers, and the health and legal rights of the three Christians during their detention.