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China

• Court Case Repeatedly Delayed

  

  In July 2021, Zhao Weikai, a leader of the Xuncheng (Zion) Reformed Church, was arrested after a search of his home revealed materials the Public Security Bureau deemed to be "promoting terrorism and extremism." For more details on the incident, a previously posted report is available here.

• Trial for Church Elder Under Strict Security

  

  In March 2021, the Ren'ai Reformed Church in Guiyang, China, was raided by agents of the religious affairs bureau, together with public security officers. During the raid, ten church members were taken into custody. The church leader, Elder Zhang Chunlei, attempted to negotiate with the police; however, after doing so, he himself became detained. For more details on the initial incident, see this page.

• Church and Associated School Officially Closed

  

  The Linfen Covenant House Church has experienced ongoing legal challenges, many of which arose after police officers raided a family camp in August 2022. Two preachers from the church were arrested for alleged fraud and, more recently, two other church workers were suddenly detained without notice (see this page for more information).

• Trial for Teachers Rescheduled

  

  In August 2021, four house church leaders were arrested for allegedly carrying out "illegal business operations" due to their involvement with a house church school in Wuhu, Anhui State. Two of the arrested Christians were later released on bail, but the others, Wan Hongxia and Wang Minghai, were formally charged and have since been awaiting trial. For more information on their arrests, see this page.

• Imprisonment Nearing Completion for Detained Christians

  

  In January 2020, Pastor An Yankui and Zhang Chenghao, along with five other Christians, travelled from China to attend a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The conference speaker was highly critical of the Chinese Communist Party, which led to multiple arrests of all seven believers who were subsequently charged for "illegally crossing the national border" (see this page).

• Additional Arrests Involving Members of Linfen Church

  

  On August 19th, a family camp run by the Linfen Covenant House Church was raided by police, leading to the arrest of two preachers. (Read more.)Since their arrest, members of the church have faced severe pressure from governing authorities to corroborate the charges of "fraud" against the two men. The congregants were also pressured to pledge that they will never attend the church again. Most refused but, after intense coercion from members of their workplace and family, some were forced to sign statements claiming that they were "victims" of the alleged fraud.

• Three Christians Detained in Unknown Location

  

  The Church of Abundance in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, issued a public prayer letter on October 17th, stating that two pastors and another believer have been in custody for 60 days. Since being detained, the Christians have not been heard from.

• Christian Education Facilities Face Closure

  

  In recent months, seminaries in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, have been raided and forced to close by officials who claim that the Christian schools are illegal. On August 8th, the Wenzhou Bowen Bible School and the Wenzhou Bible School were both raided. These raids followed an official announcement which was issued to the seminaries three days before. The claim is that the schools were organizing events without government authorization and had not registered their activities with officials.

• Two Preachers Arrested for Alleged Fraud

  

  On August 19th, 70 members of the Linfen Covenant House Church were enjoying an outdoor family camp when more than 100 police officers suddenly appeared, taking everyone into custody, before they were eventually released. Preacher Li Jie and Preacher Han Xiaodong were detained on suspicion of fraud a few days later. Formal notice of the charges was presented to their wives on September 23rd. Li Jie's wife, Li Shanshan, had also been arrested but was released on bail September 6th and reunited with their two children.

• Christian Portrayed as "Socially Dangerous"

  

  The Public Security Bureau in the Sichuan Province of China arrested a Christian man, Lin Xuesui, on June 14th for allegedly "organizing and financing illegal gatherings." The charges were laid after Lin, who is from the coastal city of Wenzhou, shared his testimony in a remote mountainous region about 2,000 kilometres away from his home. Two other Christians were arrested at the same time but later released on bail. According to a recent report by VOM Korea, Lin remains in custody pending his trial.