(Shenyang, October 23, 2025) Local authorities in China’s northeastern city of Shenyang have intensified their suppression of a house church known as Sai Er Te Fellowship, arresting at least eight members, including its core leaders, Pastor Qu (also known as Pastor Mingdao) and his wife, Ms. Hua Zhao. The couple now faces the accusation of “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law,” a common crime the Chinese government employs to persecute unregistered and blacklisted religious groups.
According to the church and family members, since June this year, Kangping County police in Shenyang have launched multiple operations targeting Sai Er Te Fellowship. The first round of arrests occurred on June 29. Five Christians, Pastor Qu (Mingdao), Wang Xiangchao, Shao Huaxuan, Sister Liu, and Sister Gu, were detained and later subjected to prolonged interrogation and torture. Family members claimed that detainees were beaten by police, threatened, and subjected to prolonged investigation that deprived them of sleep; one suffered broken ribs, while another was blindfolded and slapped.
Re-Arrests and Escalated Charges
Although four of the initial detainees, except for Pastor Mingdao, were released on bail by the end of July after lawyers intervened multiple times, the situation sharply worsened in September. Between September 26 and 29, police launched another round of arrests, detaining several members again, including Wang Xiangchao, Shao Huaxuan, Sister Liu, and Sister Gu. The authorities charged them once more under “cult” crimes and also detained Wang Xiangchao’s wife, Enmei, who, though later released on bail, was listed as a co-defendant in the same case.
Pastor and his Wife Arrested, Families in Crisis
In the early morning of September 30, police raided Pastor Mingdao’s home and took away his wife, Hua Zhao. To date, both remain detained along with four others, making a total of six detained at Kangping County Detention Center. Two others have been released on bail, while three Christians from other provinces have reportedly also been arrested and detained as part of the same case.
The arrests have devastated families. Pastor Mingdao and his wife have left behind an underage daughter, while his mother is battling cancer. Families of other individuals detained face similar hardship; one man’s wife is in poor health, with two young children in need of care at home.
The Chinese government has long used “cult” as a reason to suppress independent, unregistered religious groups that have been officially blacklisted. While Beijing claims these actions are meant to “strictly govern religion,” human rights organizations and advocates for religious freedom denounce them as a systematic persecution of religious freedom.
ChinaAid and several international human rights groups have called on the global community to pay close attention to this case and urge the Chinese government to end its crackdowns and torture interrogations of house church members.
As of today, the Shenyang Public Security Bureau has not issued any official comment on this case.
China Aid Association
