(Breaking News from Anhui – April 29, 2025) According to the latest Kingdom Prayer Bulletin, at approximately 1:30 in the afternoon today, officers from the Fuyang Modern Industrial Park Public Security Bureau in Anhui Province suddenly forcefully entered the home of a local Christian. At the time, several Christians were gathered with ten children, aged five to six, for a routine gathering after sharing a meal. It was reported that the police forcibly took away all five Christians along with the children, confiscated their mobile phones, and conducted a search of the residence.

Christian children unlawfully held in custody by the police 

Subsequently, when the children’s parents arrived at the police station to pick up their children, they were rejected by the police, and the children are currently still in custody.

This action not only violates the religious freedom of adult Christians but also infringes upon the rights of children to freedom of religion or belief and their fundamental right to be with their parents. International human rights law explicitly protects children’s rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, which should be respected, and children should not be subjected to intervention or restrictions merely for participating in their parents’ religious activities.

Worsening religious repression in Anhui province

At present, the Kingdom Prayer Bulletin is calling on the Christian community from around the globe to pray for the detained brothers and sisters in Christ and the children, asking God to protect them and in hopes that Christians in Fuyang may continue to live a devout life, free from unlawful interference.

Additionally, reports indicate that in recent years, various branches of the Fuyang Public Security Bureau, such as the Economic and Technological Development Zone Bureau, have repeatedly taken coercive measures against Maizhong Reformed Church, which has firmly maintained its stance as a house church. Authorities have frequently conducted raids on their Bible study gatherings due to the church’s refusal to join the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee.

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)