(Wenzhou, China – December 19, 2025) On the evening of December 15, a fireworks show of unusual scale suddenly lit up the government square in Yayang Town, Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The day marked neither a traditional festival nor any official celebration. Reportedly costing more than one million yuan, the firework show quickly raised questions on social media.

In the next few days, information from local residents and online sources indicated that the fireworks were not for a celebratory event at all but a cover for a large-scale persecution campaign against Christians that had already been underway for several days.

According to multiple local residents and believers, beginning on December 13, more than a thousand police officers, SWAT units, anti-riot forces, and firefighters from Hangzhou, Pingyang, and other parts of Zhejiang were dispatched to Yayang Town to carry out mass arrests of local Christians. At 3:20 a.m. on December 15, SWAT forces entered a representative church in the Yayang area known as “Yayang Assembly.” Within just the first two days, several hundreds of people were taken away for questioning. On December 16 and 17, at least four more individuals were detained.

Belongings of relevant individuals were illegally confiscated, roads leading to the church were completely blocked by police, and Christians in Yayang Town were unable to enter the Yayang church. The operation lasted nearly five days, yet no public statement was issued by officials.

Information Blockade and an “Accidental Exposure”

Multiple interviewees said that during the operation, local online information was placed under strict control; it was nearly impossible to spread information about the arrests on public platforms. It was against this backdrop that the fireworks show on the night of the 15th appeared especially abrupt.

Alongside the fireworks videos appeared large numbers of highly coordinated internet water army accounts posting comments accompanied by political slogans such as “Listen to the Party, follow the Party.” When netizens questioned the reason for setting off fireworks worth millions, these accounts vaguely explained it as “a spontaneous celebration by the masses for cracking down on violent crime.” This explanation failed to subdue doubts.

Some netizens claiming to be local residents anonymously pointed out in the comment sections that before and after the fireworks, multiple Christians in the town were taken away for questioning, and some homes were searched by police. These comments were soon deleted.

One of the core targets of the law enforcement operation was two key figures in the local church: 58-year-old Lin Enzhao and 54-year-old Lin Enci.

In a wanted notice posted locally, the two were listed as “principal suspects of a criminal organization,” with rewards ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 RMB. However, the notice cited only the commonly used charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” without specifying any concrete illegal acts. Another notice called on the public to provide “tip-offs to their illegal and criminal activities.” 

Multiple local residents familiar with the situation said that the two men have long been involved in church affairs and enjoy high esteem among believers. More than a decade ago, Lin Enzhao was wanted for opposing the demolition of a church cross. In official documents, he is described as a “gang-related individual,” but among believers, he is seen as a representative figure who defended church rights. 

The two are best known for opposing the forced installation of the five-star red flag at the church entrance. Flag installation is an aggressive, unilateral practice that Zhejiang authorities have pushed in recent years despite strong resistance from Christians.

As of now, authorities have not released specific evidence against the two, and the progress of the case remains opaque.

Accumulated Policy Frictions

Multiple informed sources pointed out that this action was not an isolated incident but the concentrated eruption of long-standing tensions. The immediate trigger was the local church’s resistance to government-promoted religious management policies, particularly its refusal to erect a flagpole and raise the national flag in the main areas of the church. 

In the early hours of June 24 this year, Mayor Li Bin of Yayang Town led more than a hundred people into a Christian assembly—the “Yayang Church”—where they demolished the perimeter wall and gate and forcibly erected a flagpole to raise the national flag. Local Christians believe this action crossed the boundaries of space for religious activities.

In recent years, religious venues across China have been required to implement the so-called “Five Entries and Five Transformations” policy, which mandates introducing the national flag, the Constitution, laws, and socialist core values into Christian spaces and promoting the “localization” and “politicization” of religious activities. In some regions, this process has led to ongoing friction.

A Decade of Confrontation

The Christian community in Yayang Town has long been regarded as one of the most organized Christian groups in the area. Since the large-scale campaign to demolish church crosses in Zhejiang began in 2014, local believers have repeatedly taken collective action to oppose demolitions and the installation of surveillance equipment.

In a 2017 confrontation, when the church refused to install surveillance cameras, physical altercations broke out between law enforcement officers and believers, resulting in multiple injuries. After that, several churches in Yayang Town became among the few in Zhejiang that still retain crosses on their buildings.

This years-long resistance has gradually made the area a “key problem” in the eyes of local authorities.

In the eyes of local officials, “resolving” the Yayang Christian community represents a rare opportunity to create political achievements.

Chen Yixin, director of China’s Ministry of State Security, is a native of Taishun. During Zhejiang’s cross-demolition campaign (2014–2016), Chen Yixin was promoted to member of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Standing Committee and concurrently served as Party Secretary of Wenzhou.

Broader Trends

On December 18, after the arrests concluded, the local government held a so-called “Elimination of Six Evils” mobilization rally in Yayang Town. SWAT units lined up to display equipment, and large numbers of riot police were deployed to demonstrate force, intimidate local Christians, and create an atmosphere of fear, framing the earlier law enforcement actions as “results of the anti-organized crime campaign.”

Police vehicles were stationed near the homes of Yayang Christians. Key church coworkers have already been arrested, and communication among believers is disrupted. The exact number of people criminally detained across the 12 churches in the Yayang area remains to be further verified, but a preliminary figure exceeds 20.

Police have gone door to door demanding that Christians accuse church leaders Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Government-driven public opinion campaigns are spreading defamatory rumors portraying Christians as “unpatriotic” or belonging to a “cult.”

This approach aligns with China’s recent trend of criminalizing certain religious activities. On September 29 this year, China’s leader reiterated in a speech the need to “systematically advance the Sinicization of religion.” Earlier, mass arrests at Beijing Zion Church saw pastors and church members detained on fabricated charges of “fraud.”

Linking religious leaders to “criminal organizations” is a common tactic, as it both undermines their moral legitimacy and provides a legal pretext for high-intensity law enforcement.

A Winter Approaches

As of now, how many of those taken away have been formally detained or face prosecution remains unable for verification. Multiple Christian activities in Yayang Town have been forcibly halted.

For China’s underground house churches, what has happened in Yayang Town is increasingly seen as a dangerous signal—that amid tightening policies and information blockades, a campaign to purge faith communities may be unfolding in a more systematic and covert manner.

Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai for China Aid