Pastor Gong Shengliang (龚圣亮) is the founder and leader of the South China Church (SCC), an evangelical house-church fellowship with some 50,000 members across several provinces. In December 2001, he was convicted and sentenced to death under China's anti-cult legislation. Responding to international pressure, China dropped the religious charge and the death penalty and ordered a re-trial. Pastor Gong was convicted of multiple counts of rape and given a life sentence.
According to a spokesperson from China's National Agency for Religious Affairs, as well as Pastor Gao Ying from the China Christian Council, Gong Shengliang has incited followers to beat up people who refused to join his religious group, and has used sulfuric acid to disfigure disobedient followers. Moreover, he has told female followers that having sexual relations with him is necessary for Christian piety, and has raped 8 women as a result. Cao Shengjie, Vice President of the China Christian Council, has reportedly called Gong Shengliang's organization satanic, and has asked that such abominations be dealt with severely for the sake of Christians everywhere.
He was sentenced to death in 2001, but because of international pressure, the sentence was reduced to life. Some who testified against Gong later stated that they were tortured into doing so. Liu Xianzhi, a former leader in the South China Church, has sought asylum in the United States and gives extensive testimony on the details of Pastor Gong Shengliang's case. There are also reports that he has been beaten and mistreated in prison. Over several weeks in late May and early June 2003, it was reported that he lapsed in and out of a coma and was bleeding internally, and that he nearly died from a savage beating in prison in June 2003.
In a turn of events, Gong admitted guilt to some of the charges against him. In a press release by the China Aid Association, they reported that some of the accusations against Gong may be true. After an extensive independent investigation, it now seems clear that he did in fact seduce and molest some female members of his church network and that he encouraged South China Church(SCC) members to use violence against Chinese Christians who betrayed SCC. China Aid received a hand written letter from Gong himself admitting guilt in these areas. According to China Aid, at the end of the letter he said, "I realized that I deserve this punishment for what I have done."