(Chengdu — June 23, 2026) Authorities in southwestern China are escalating pressure on members of a prominent house church following a June 14 worship gathering that ended with the detention of dozens of Christians. Two church elders have since been jailed, while another member has been threatened with repeat interrogations.
The developments involve Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC), a well-known house church in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. The church has faced years of government pressure since authorities banned the congregation and imprisoned Pastor Wang Yi in a sweeping crackdown that began in 2018.
One of the Christians detained during the June 14 operation was church member Liu Xiaoqiong. On June 16, she received a call from an officer at the Xinchuan Police Station in Chengdu’s High-Tech Zone directing her to report to the station the following day for questioning.
Liu told the officer she was physically and mentally exhausted and requested that the meeting be postponed until June 18. The officer responded that the matter was not a routine conversation but a formal interview requiring an official written statement.
Liu declined, explaining that she had already provided a statement to authorities on June 14 and did not wish to repeat the process. The officer reportedly warned that failure to appear could result in a formal summons.
According to a prayer letter released by ERCC, Liu replied, “Fine, then issue a formal summons and summon me accordingly.”
ERCC elders Yan Hong and Wu Wuqing recently received administrative detention penalties of 14 and 15 days, respectively, on accusations of “organizing and participating in illegal gatherings,” as previously reported by ChinaAid News.
The detentions stem from a June 14 sunday worship organized by the church. Police detained 33 Christians during the gathering and transported them to a case-handling center operated by the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau, where they were held for approximately 12 hours before most were released late that night.
Late on June 14, after police completed interviews and collected written statements, approximately 30 detainees were transported by bus back to the location where they had been taken into custody. Liu was among them, arriving home in Chengdu at approximately 2:35 a.m. on June 15.
Early Rain Covenant Church is one of China’s best-known Protestant house churches. Authorities banned the church following mass arrests in December 2018, and Pastor Wang Yi was later sentenced to nine years in prison. Members have nevertheless continued meeting privately for worship.
Church members have long reported surveillance, interrogations, forced evictions, utility disruptions and short-term detentions as authorities seek to restrict the congregation’s activities. Chengdu officials have repeatedly targeted the church as part of broader efforts to control unregistered religious groups.
Since joining and being baptized at ERCC, Liu has reportedly faced repeated police scrutiny, including multiple police summonses and interrogation sessions commonly referred to in China as being invited to “drink tea.”
According to the prayer letter, Liu has previously endured threats, intimidation and harsh detention conditions while in police custody. Church sources said the pressure has also affected her family.
As surveillance and questioning of church members continue, ChinaAid news will continue to cover events at ERCC and the response of churches worldwide to ongoing persecution of believers across China.
Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.